Introduction

This book deals with the baptism and early ministry of our Lord and takes place for the most part around the Sea of Galilee.

Volume I covered the period of his ancestry, Hebrew background, birth and youth.

Volume III will begin with his final journey to Jerusalem.

In these books all the words and works of our Lord Jesus have been copied directly from the Four Gospels, mainly from the Revised Standard Version, with comparisons from several other translations as well, in each case the clearer rendition being used

The Word

The Lord Incarnate was the fulfillment and evidence of the Divine Word become flesh. He was the outcome of centuries of prophecy and prayers of thousands who had urgently desired and declared the advent of a Saviour. He was the Composite Word of all who walked with God and sought to know Him face to face, the Cumulative Statement from countless repetitions of Scripture through which the nucleus of the living flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ was eventually formed -- and he was the Living Word, direct from God.

Yet our Lord was born even as we, into a body of flesh, and he was endowed as even we are with an innate intelligence and with the divine spark of the Spirit.

Let us remember that Jesus came into the world willingly with a great burning desire to come, that he, Jesus, might have the opportunity to aid man and the planet Earth.

Jesus, of course, came into the world through a Mother who had a great spiritual passion after being told she, Mary, was to give birth to the much looked for Messiah.

The Virgin Mary loved and adored carrying of the body of Jesus. She was thankful, and she gave thanks to God many times for this great opportunity of service.

Just think how different that birth was from many millions of births of our children today, who come into this world today, many unwanted, many mothers-to-be who tried to release themselves after conception, and many with various diseases. These are vastly different from the condition that Jesus entered the world under, for the love of Mary certainly does not exist here.

But along with such gifts as the humblest man may receive, he was also accorded others directly from his Father in heaven, such gifts as are attainable by mankind only through the acceptance of our Lord Jesus Christ who brought them into the earth plane.

For as a true Son of the Father, only he is fully endowed with that wholeness of Spirit and Truth which can make men free, and only he was fully instructed in the Wisdom of God before ever coming here to lift up mankind.

The Creator placed within our Lord Jesus the potent nucleus of His Innermost Essence and enclosed within him the Primordial Light of His own Being which was before the world began. This Light he brought and offered to us all in a vehicle nourished and sustained by virgin purity.

In using the term "only-begotten Son of God," we are not implying that Jesus was the only son of God, but that he manifested in human form as the only begotten Son, the Divine Word sometimes called the second aspect of the Supreme Being. Since Jesus was actually born of the Holy Spirit the divine aspect was an intrinsic aspect of his personality.

The Holy Spirit brought the concept. Others have come to be sons of God, but they have been made sons as a result of attainment and grace.

The Living Word is "begotten" of his Father before all worlds and without Him is not anything made that was made. Thus does the only-begotten rank before all other things in the universe, excepting the Power aspect from Whence it sprang -- that first aspect of Supreme Being which thinks-out, or imagines, the universe that is to be before the actual beginnings of manifestation.

Through the memory of nature Jesus may be studied as a man, for he truly belongs to our humanity and was embodied in this form. His human personality had evolved and developed much as others, but the being, Christ, is something quite different. For there is found but one such embodiment -- when he descended into the body of Jesus in the baptism at Jordan. Let us never suppose that Jesus even in his human form was an ordinary individual, for being of a singularly pure and evolved type of mind, he was vastly superior to the great majority of our present humanity. Having traveled throughout many lifetimes the path of holiness, he had thus fitted himself for this honor and mission greater than any which had ever been assigned to a human being.

Jesus brought to mankind more than an inspiring example, for he stands above all men as the Supreme Way-Shower, and as a member of the human race he is able to reveal the possibilities of human attainment in order that those things he did may be accomplished in time by all people.

Had the Lord Jesus come to our earth from another order of beings, he could hardly have provided such an example for our emulation as he now does, for then he would be looked upon rather as an abstract ideal, portraying for us a perfection which we could not hope to reach, because of his superhuman development. He would not have the basis for understanding our pains and problems. But as it is, he made it possible for everyone in the process of human evolution to attain, even as he had attained. And he added the encouragement, "even greater things shall ye do."

As we seek to grow in his way, to emulate him in all that we do, to seek greater clarity of the Truth of his teaching, and as we seek to grow into a more intimate relationship with Jesus, Mary and Joseph (three great Initiates), such association and concentration upon their attributes of character and personality inevitably must lead us to grow more nearly into their likeness. It is necessary to reawaken these divine attributes within ourselves and above all to practice their principles in daily life as a basic preparation for the era just beginning. In these times more definite steps will be needed to prepare the way for the return of our great Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.

St. John the Apostle spoke of him thus:

"When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was. The Word then was with God at the beginning, and through Him all things came to be; no single thing was created without Him. All that came to be was alive with His life, and that life was the light of man. The light shines on in the dark, and the darkness has never overcome it.

"He came to his own, and his own would not receive Him, but to all who did receive Him, to those who have yielded Him their allegiance, He gave power to become sons of God, especially to those who believed in His name -- being born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of God.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, a glory like that of the first-born of the Father, full of grace and truth. No man has ever seen God; but the first-born of God who is in the bosom of his Father has declared Him."

Before the embodiment of God in the human form of His Son, even the angels of heaven would never have dared imagine the Godhead in any kind of image or form. For the people of Israel since the time of Moses had been strictly forbidden to portray God in any aspect of form, or to invent an image of Him, or even a picture of any living creature. Not until the advent of Jesus did God appear openly visible and approachable to all men.

There is an old saying to this effect: "An idol is near, yet very far; for though a man set it up in his home and if he cry unto it, it will not answer. But God is very near." As a Rabbi has said, From here to heaven is a journey of five hundred years." Thus God is seen as far off, but at the same time so near that if a man prays and meditates in his inmost heart, God is there to answer his prayer.

The Father has said that He wishes to give us the kingdom, and any who wish to know the Lord can do so. To the man who said one must love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, Jesus answered, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." The way to the kingdom may be a short process or a long one, but it is possible for all because however scattered and separate mankind may appear to be, there exists in everyone a Self, or common Center, where all meet and are divine, for love is of God. Whatever is not of love must remain outside of Him. Faithful application of His wisdom brings about unfoldment of the teachings of His divine love.

Divine love means more than doing good. Many are the persons who do not acknowledge God, but on the physical and even on the mental levels do "a world of good" for their fellow men whether it be through social service, medicine, or just being a good neighbor. They dedicate themselves to straightening up the messes which man has incurred through his mistaken way of life. They clean up the diseases which he has wrought within himself over a period of time. Such dedication develops the character and soul to a high degree, but to patch up the effects of past error is not enough. To keep on clearing away the debris of past action does not prevent its recurrence. One must remove the cause.

The work of the true priesthood is to prevent error, not by taking note of it, but exchanging and transforming that which is erroneous into that which is godly. It is not enough to flee the darkness, for light must be turned on to dissolve it. When the sun comes out it disappears.

Our Lord Jesus did not live his earthly life merely to set an example for other beings to copy, even though by living as he did an example was set. Due to the difference between his mission and ours, or the customs of his time and ours, we are not expected to go through all the actions he did, but to follow and live after the teachings and directives he taught which apply to any age. Truth and justice, love of God and neighbor, healing and use of the word in healing, these truths are effective in us in that their use reveals the causes of our errors.

In the life of our Lord Jesus Christ we need not worry whether his actions spoke louder than his words, for both are still reverberating even unto our own era, when the time has come for him to gather fruits from the Seeds which he planted when living on earth.

Not only is Jesus the embodiment of the Word, but through him God gave unto mankind and taught him to use the Divine Word of Power. When man takes hold of his authority, speaking this Word in accordance with the Will of God, that word bears good fruit, for in the Word God gave man, He also gave something of Himself. Those who have worked with faith and through experience have become pure in their intentions, find that the Self within them unites with that of God, and even they become true Sons of God, working in His Name, on His behalf.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees of today bear other names, many names, but our approach to them should always be with Truth, even as our Lord's method was to give them the truth, and live it. We are not expected to do or to suffer the things he suffered, but we are pilgrims even as he, from the point of the first rung of the ladder of ascension, up through the universe and beyond unto the heaven itself where he has prepared a place for us.

The Way he showed us was a new and living way, leading from man to God, from the partial to the perfect, from the earthly to the heavenly, and from time to eternity.

He lived the life required of mortals, but was immortal. He completed his sojourn in the flesh in order to bring those who dwell in flesh closer to the glorious place from whence he came. He was by far the greatest of all men, because he was more than a mere man. Being both of the mortal and immortal, he was able to transmute for man his mortal life into the everlasting and divine life. He is so far above other men as to be beyond comparison with them. Only he was able to overbridge the great gulf which man had brought about between the Creator and His created beings long ago. Only Jesus has succeeded in changing the corruptible human into the incorruptible man.

It also remained for him as the first among all intelligent human beings on this earth and the other globes to succeed fully and completely in amalgamating his individuality with the indwelling Spirit-spark of God. This was the greatest victory man could ever hope to achieve, and his success was not merely for the earth, but was cosmic. Everywhere in the universe does his name reverberate, and all who spiritually comprehend it bend the knee in reverence and gratitude.

"Blessed Lord Jesus, gentle as the human heart, fiery as the forces of nature, and intimate as Life itself -- in you shall mankind melt in Light, and with you gain freedom and mastery over all the world. Most dearly beloved, it is you, in truth, who are sought by all our brother-men; even those who do not believe yet sense and seek you through-out the magic immensities of the cosmos."

The Ark of the Covenant, shown here in a sixth-century mosaic, was the only image of God permissible to the Hebrew artist.

Baptized By John

By the time Jesus had reached his early thirties, the time was ripe and he was ready to be ordained for his mission.

This ordination was not to take place in a Temple, but in an open river. Nor would it be administered by an orthodox priest, but by the son of a Levite priest who was himself a desert prophet.

Luke carefully times the beginning of this ministry as occurring in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (in Rome), usually designated as 29 A.D., sometimes 28 A.D.; Pontius Pilate being then governor of Judea sent out from Rome, and Herod Antipas (the son of Herod the Great who had reigned at Jesus' birth) was tetrarch of the province of Galilee. Caiaphas was then high priest in Jerusalem with his father-in-law Annas, the former high priest, still wielding a great deal of influence.

By now Jesus had matured into the full vigor of manhood. He was a strong commanding figure, in no way resembling the emaciated or effeminate image so often presented.

He was warm and vibrant with the radiant love of God flowing out from him and carried himself with such easy authority it occurred to no one to question him.

He had a classic face somewhat oval like that of Mary, but with a more pronounced nose, and the broad flat forehead slanting somewhat back to signify the swift movement of his thought. His eyes were deep and penetrating, and the mouth strong -- not like the mouth of other men, but more like unto a God. His beard was not pronounced. Some early artists painted him without one, others with.

Some called him blond like David, others believed he had dark hair parted at the middle after the manner of the Nazarenes, but both agree it was somewhat curly, and one sees it more brown with a reddish sheen. There was no representation made of him during his lifetime due to the religion of the Jews which forbade the making of any kind of image.

The "brothers" of Jesus who were mentioned by name in the Scriptures were Joseph, Simon and Jude, along with certain unnamed sisters. These, as explained before, may have been cousins instead, or even half-brothers.

A sister of Mary, also called Mary, the wife of Cleophas, was once mentioned also. Jesus had a great deal of love for people, as so often exhibited in his concern for the welfare and happiness of those about him later on. He liked women, too, and we wonder how Mary explained to the townspeople why one so eligible did not wed, as was the usual custom at a fairly early age.

John, the son of Zacharias, had been born just six months before Jesus, and he started his ministry just a short time before our Lord. Though Jesus and John the Baptist were so near the same age and their missions so closely hinged one upon the other, it is not very likely they knew each other in the formative years, unless they met sometimes during youthful pilgrimages to the Temple at the Passover.

For Jesus lived in the north of Palestine and John in the south where he spent all his life in the Judean desert, until the call came from God to go forth preaching and baptizing. He was probably not always alone during that time, living in earlier years with his aging mother Elizabeth near Jerusalem, later making his way either to the desert dwelling of a hermit teacher, or to one of the more austere Essene communities. (Traditionally he is supposed to have spent some time at the one in Carmel.)

The Essene community in the heart of the Judean wilderness was preparing the way for the Lord's coming, through study of the Law and strict obedience to all that had been revealed by the prophets. United by a priestly discipline, the community itself constituted a "holy of holies" in which, through sacrifices of praise and perfect obedience, atonement was made for the guilt of transgressions and for the purification of the land. Set apart in this way, the community served as a house of holiness for the priests and a house of community for the Israelites who were obedient to the Law until the coming of the day of the Lord. This day would be marked by the appearance of two Messianic figures, an anointed priest and an anointed king for Israel.

In his later years John went out alone into the desert, living very frugally on locusts and wild honey, dressed in camel's hair and a leather girdle, praying and fasting.

There was beauty too, occasional strong notes of color in this desert where all is so light and all half-tones are lost in that clearness which in the East wraps the whole immensity of earth and sky and gives infinite sharpness and depth to the horizon.

He received his call from God only a matter of months before Jesus did and obeyed that call to come out in the land of Judea around the Jordan as a powerful preacher of immense force, his heroic sanctity lending strength to every word. He reminded people of their old Jewish prophets.

It was nearly 1,000 years since Elijah had come, and they waited his return as prophesied that he must precede the Messiah when he came. It had been said that three days before the Messiah, Elijah would again appear.

It was necessary that a "purifier" should precede the Messiah, for only the pure in heart would be able to abide in his presence

It had been such a long time since a true prophet had appeared in Israel that they were eager to hear this great one like unto those who had stirred man's conscience of old and who were the pride of their religious heritage. So they flocked to hear him preach, and his fame spread over all Palestine.

He was a rugged man, also around thirty-five years of age, dark-haired, and bearing that quality of fierce inner purity which can belong only to one who has nothing to conceal and no axe to grind -- but cutting all the more deeply as a result.

John had begun to gather a few disciples about him, and they assisted him with the baptisms, for there were many.

Baptism was not new. The Essenes also used baptism as part of their rites, and the Israelites have been mentioned as using some such rite in the times of both Isaiah and Ezekiel. So also did the followers of Mithras in Persia.

Josephus said that baptism was for purification of the body after the soul had already been purified through repentence. After baptism one became a sinless man, though if he sinned again he was not rebaptized but was given a supplementary rite.

Galilee, like all the other provinces, was filled with the name of John. The people of Galilee, under the impulse which carried all the Jews with it, came in their turn to ask for baptism. This was the hour of God for Jesus, who without further ado, joined the caravans of his country and descended into the valley of Jordan to seek the prophet.

John was baptizing in the River Jordan outside Jerusalem, in a place which was appropriate for immersion. (For the word "baptize" means "immerse.") Jesus traveled alone to see John, not yet having gathered any disciples about him. Whatever spiritual work he had done before this time was private, probably known only to his mother and himself. It was said that he came to John direct from Nazareth in Galilee, a trip of about three days.

The road past Nazareth led to the ford where caravans had to cross the river into southern Persia. Here John was preaching at Bethany, near Jericho. The place was full of religious memories, which carried the imagination back to such great ones as Joshua, who led the Israelites into the promised land here, and Elijah himself who had smitten the waters with his mantle and opened a passage through its rapid waters.

The name of the place is today called "place of passage." The name Bethany is not known. Some translators call the place "Bethabara," which means "house of the boat," indicating an established river crossing at that point. In the background are arid mountains which look like a mass of cinders. The atmosphere is hot even in winter. The silence of the solitude is scarcely broken by the cry of a few birds and the stifled murmur of the stream. It was quite near the Qumran Essene community.

This town of Bethany, or Bethabara, was on the far side of the Jordan, on the eastern shore where John was baptizing, and this was not the town called Bethany on the Mount of Olives where Lazarus lived with his sisters.

There is something about viewing past actions from a vantage point of time and knowledge that makes them appear as though re-enacted in miniature; for you have already absorbed the essence of what was done to carry you forward, and you can now view what they were doing (though not repeating the events in full scale) as though standing on a slope overlooking a tiny stream from above - one which you could cross in one step to the other side, and it represents the River Jordan, where Jesus was baptized. Jesus did the same when he came.

He did not repeat the old prophet's actions full-size, but put them in small scale and quickly went through to a baptism he did not need. It was a miniature repetition of several ancient events of significance. Today we go through all these in a still smaller proportion of action.

The word "Galilee" means "wheel" or "revolution of a wheel," and it seems as though the cycle of the "wheel" in Jesus' life turned each twelve years bringing him into a new area.

His mother traveled from Nazareth to give him birth; again when he was twelve years old they traveled to Jerusalem from their home in Nazareth, and he began to teach in the Temple.

We do not know what milestone was passed at this twenty- fourth year, but it was almost certainly a time of travel and spiritual experience.

The final rotation of the wheel brings him quite near to the thirty-sixty year when it carried him once more from Nazareth to the Jordan, again as before in the land of Judea.

We say Jesus was nearer thirty-five despite the usual saying that he began preaching at about thirty. Due to historically known events (Herod's death occurred in 4 B.C.), he had to be at least five years old by 1 A.D., and his ministry should have begun around 29 A.D., possibly 28 A.D. The letters "B.C.," of course, are an abbreviation for "before Christ," and "A.D." is abbreviated from Anno Domini, Latin for "Year of our Lord."

From the first chapter of the gospels of John and Mark, and from the third chapter of Matthew and Luke, we glean the story of Jesus' two baptisms, both of water and the Holy Spirit being accomplished in the same ritual, but the baptism by water had to precede the other in order to carry the new step upward from the old.

Baptism by John

This is why Jesus had need first to fulfill the former way. "Let it be so for now," he said to John, "to fulfill all righteousness." Because though he was already progressed far beyond any need for the baptism by water, he must make this token gesture to clear the way for that higher initiation which was to come from above.

Too, he may have personally wished to perform this cleansing to rid himself of any bits of earthly dust which might have clung from the thirty-odd years spent in preparing himself among men for this very moment.

Not only had John's preaching and baptism tilled the ground for Jesus to emerge publicly, but there was a need to acknowledge John's word and accept it, in order to receive in return the perfect witnessing of the spiritual anointment into his divine mission.

The River Jordan

We are told there appeared "a man sent from God whose name was John," and he came as a witness to testify concerning the Light so that through him all might come to believe.

He was not himself that Light, but he came to bear witness of it, for the real light which enlightens every man was even then coming into the world. And he was in the world already, but the world, though it owed its being to him, did not recognize him.

And John came preaching in the wilderness of Jordan, calling to all who would hear, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you." And he went all over the Judean Valley proclaiming the baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it was prophesied in the book of Isaiah:

All the people were on edge with expectation, musing in their hearts and wondering about John, whether perhaps he was the Messiah whom they awaited. But John answered them plainly, "Though I baptize you with water, there is one coming after me who is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to unfasten. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

So with this and many other exhortations, John preached good news to the people.

Thither came Jesus unnoticed in the crowd, and John, as yet, knew him not. But when Jesus presented himself with the others, John sought to prevent him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by you, and yet you have come to me?" How John must have yearned for that greater baptism, which was withheld at that time.

In a profoundly graceful statement, Jesus answered him, "Let it be done so for now, for this is necessary for us so that all may be fulfilled." Then John consented and baptized him. After the immersion Jesus immediately rose out of the water and at that moment he saw the heavens opened wide and the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to alight upon him. A voice from heaven was heard saying, "Thou art My Son, My Beloved, on whom My favor rests."

The descent of the Holy Spirit after his immersion has been called the anointing of Jesus, with the wondrous sign which attended it enabling John to recognize him as the Messiah -- the long-awaited Saviour of man.

Forty Days

Before Jesus' birth, when the Holy Spirit "came upon" Mary and the Power of the Most High overshadowed her, the body of God had been given life. Now at the Jordan when the Holy Spirit descended and "came upon" Jesus, the great three-rayed Light that resembled a dove brought the "blood" or Spirit of God that was given to Jesus with the Sonship.

It is significant that Mary, after receiving the Spirit, went with haste on the long journey to Judea where she stayed three months with her cousin. The intensity of the experience had driven her to rush forth as it now caused Jesus to do. For immediately following baptism the Spirit "drove" him forth into the desert, due to the overwhelming grandeur of his experience.

Nothing else mattered or existed for him during that exalted state except the rapture of his Oneness with God. He had no purpose in mind, no set goal in time, and was beyond any thought of self-discipline -- he was only following the Spirit -- listening to the secret words of heaven which no man may utter.

Wild beasts passed by, and he feared them not; blistering sun smote the desert, and he welcomed it as he did the stinging windstorms with sand in his face.

Whenever precious water was found in this desolate place, he drank automatically, scarcely knowing what he did, the angels guiding him in all of this, for one does not easily survive in these wilds of Judea without taking care. In this state, however, he welcomed the stark bareness and the solitude, wishing no distraction from experiencing that greater Reality.

As a babe he had been born among gentle domesticated animals in their abode, but now having received his accolade he wandered among the savage beasts of the wilderness, who were less vicious in fact than their human relatives who dwelt in the palaces and offices of government. He slept beneath the brilliant stars in chill clear desert air and felt his own Light akin to those shining in the heavens.

For forty days and nights his fasting continued, as long ago both Moses and Elias had fasted for the same length of time, the number forty being held as sacred in Jewish antiquity.

Arabs in the seventh century named a certain mountain Jebel Quarantal, or Mount of the Forty Days, which rises 1,600 feet above the Jordan Valley toward Jericho -- and in that vicinity he may have passed some of this period. The desert has always held irresistible attraction for religious natures; all have passed through it at the threshold of the active life.

In that area are a desert and a mountain, uniting in its grandeur both austerity and majesty, where the rocks served as refuge. At its highest place above the world, frequented only by rock pigeons and eagles, is spread a dazzling panorama of sky, plain and sea.

When the forty days and nights had passed, there came a sultry red sun setting in the western sky and casting a ruddy glow over all the landscape.

In this thick and unreal atmosphere the devil appeared to Jesus. He was not in a flesh body, but appeared as solid as though indeed he were, for due to Jesus' long fast, he felt strangely weightless and lightheaded, his vision crystal clear. A great hunger had come upon him, and he suddenly felt an urgent need to return to peopled areas, where his work would now be laid out before him to do.

It was then the devil appeared, maliciously charming, to take advantage of circumstances propitious for breaking the will, for he was seeking to weaken and beguile Jesus to come away from his mission, as the serpent had once beguiled Eve.

Jesus in his spiritual strength was fully a match for strength of any other kind, and he never once lost control of the situation. For even as the Lord has a hard time helping those who fail to accept him, so is the devil also blocked by the refusal of acceptance.

The tempter approached Jesus and said, "If you are the Son of God command these stones to become bread." The devil was taunting him with the word "if," suggesting, "prove it." He pointed suggestively at the brown stones, which resembled round loaves of whole grain bread.

For forty days Jesus had heard God's statement echoing through his being, "This is My Beloved Son." He had done nothing about it yet, having just lived with the words, absorbing them.

Hungry as was his body at this moment with no relief in view, easy as both he and the devil knew it would have been for him to use the proclaimed authority to feed himself, Jesus saw the trap and had no intention of making the same mistake as Esau who had traded his birthright for a mess of food.

So he answered, "The Scripture says, 'Man cannot live by bread alone; but he must live by every word that is uttered from the mouth of God.' "

Having failed in his first simple test, the adversary made the next trap more difficult. For he took Jesus up into a high mountain place and in a flash showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them.

He told Jesus, "I will give you dominion over all these things and all the glory that goes with it, if you will only fall down and worship me. For it is in my hands to give this to anyone I choose."

Jesus knew well what that would mean. He was quite unmoved by the temptation of material wealth and luxury; the harder part to resist was having all the world on his side, with all humanity knowing who he was and accepting him without argument.

For he well knew that if he were to become a world ruler to take the throne of the Judean kings and to drive the Romans out of Palestine, this would openly prove to the satisfaction of the Temple priests and all the Jews that he was the Messiah, whom they would then receive with open arms and he could have everything his way as long as he was on earth -- to teach the word of God without resistance. But certainly not in allegiance with the devil who fought against God. So he would have to travel by another way.

Jesus saw this now as only a human temptation, for God need not save His people by setting up temporal kingdoms, and the kingdom of heaven would not be established by creating a stronger kingdom on earth. Since this was Satan's way, to follow this plan would only make him the instrument of Satan -- not of God.

It was Jesus' mission rather to be a sovereign of souls and that not only of one race but of all races -- to preside over the invisible and universal Kingdom of God, far more real and lasting.

So Jesus answered, "Begone, Satan. For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.'

Then the adversary tried once more to tempt the pride of Jesus, daring him to make reckless use of his powers, and gamble with Spirit, to try God out and see if He would keep His promises.

So the devil took him in spirit to the Holy City of Jerusalem and set him on the highest parapet of the Temple, saying, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for Scripture says, 'He will command His angels to keep watch over you to keep you in all your ways, and they will bear you up in their hands lest you should strike your foot against a stone.' "

If Jesus had cast himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple, this would have prefigured a fall from his Messianic commission and would have eventually removed him from his appointment which stood higher than any of the Levitical priesthood serving within the Temple. Even if the angels had saved his vehicle, the voluntary act would have meant spiritual undoing. But Jesus would not be led astray and answered him, "Again it is written that you shall not tempt the Lord your God."

There was still another reason why Jesus had to be tempted, as we read in the fourth chapter of Hebrews: In Jesus, the Son of God, "We have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who was tempted with everything as we are, and yet without sin."

Was it necessary that the Messiah, the begotten Son of God, should be put on trial? Yes, because he was standing in for man, who would also have to face similar experiences later on.

For the temptation is a necessary step unto everyone on the spiritual ladder, and each must undergo some kind of test to find out if his innermost desires could still lead him aside into using newly-acquired spiritual powers for serving himself rather than God.

He is placed subtly on trial to test his worthiness to go on, before he is fully permitted to assume such power, the human and the divine in man struggling for mastery.

Moreover, one who is able to pass through this trying period unscathed and undeceived, who resists any enticements to turn aside, gains within himself firmness and certainty by so doing and knows he has truly mastered former weaknesses and has the ability to carry forward his mission.

If one persistently looks at or listens to the evils that beset his life, he gives power to them by attention. But if he persistently looks upon the good, staring straight through the false outer layer, he gives life to that instead, causing the devil to lose his power from lack of sustaining belief.

Satan had not overlooked the possibility of getting the Son of God on his side, for here was the greatest prize which had ever come to earth, and what power he might have against God if he could get the Son on his side.

On the other hand, if Jesus succeeded he would pose the greatest possible threat to Satan and his kingdom, and this could not be left to pass unchallenged. When all his choicest offerings had failed to interest the newly-crowned Prince, and he had used up all his temptations, the adversary departed, biding his time, waiting another likely opportunity. And the Lord Jesus had proven his mastery over flesh, ambition and pride.

Spiritual study of the Gospels reveals that the events in the life of Christ Jesus, from the Annunciation to his Ascension, are the same steps of progress that lead every aspirant to the higher life.

These steps may be enumerated in the following way:

1. Annunciation
2. Immaculate Conception
3. Birth
   Angels
   Presentation at Temple (41 days)
   Magi
4. Flight into Egypt
   Massacre (many died for one)
   Death of Herod
   Return to Nazareth
5. Teaching in the Temple
   Years between 12 and 30
6. Baptism
7. Temptation
8. Transfiguration
9. Gethsemane
10. Crucifixion (one died for many)
11. Resurrection
12. Ascension

There is a correlation between the twelve initiations and the twelve signs of the zodiac, but no need to study those here.

From Jordan To Cana

Teaching in Galilee

In view of the great public appeal of John the Baptist, the Jews of Jerusalem sent a deputation of priests and Levites to find out who he really was, if perchance he was the Messiah or another great prophet. But John confessed to them without reserve, declaring, "I am not the Messiah."

"What then? Are you Elijah? Are you the prophet we await?"

John replied, "No, I am not." Perhaps he did not have full knowledge of this, for Jesus later declared that John was Elijah.

"Then who are you?" they asked, "For we must give some account to those who have sent us to question you. What have you to say for yourself?"

This refers to a custom in Eastern homes, where persons remove their shoes upon entering. But when an honored guest arrives, a servant or possibly even the host himself, hastens forward to pay his respects by removing the shoes of his guest.

John, the Apostle, later wrote of Jesus: "The life was in him, the life that is the light of men. And the same light shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it."

Having ended his encounter with the prince of darkness, our brilliant Light of the World, shining brighter than ever before, heard the "all clear" sounded from within and hurried his footsteps back toward that which was to be his assignment.

He now fully realized that this mission was not to be one of earthly acclaim or glory, and such glimpses as had been seen of the path he must travel, the path ahead appeared both lonely and awesome.

With triumph over the adversary behind him, Jesus felt a fresh surge of confidence and strength such as he had never before known, and with it a clear certainty that God would perfectly direct all his work in the way that was foreordained.

In leaving the desert, it was necessary to pass again through the area around Jordan where John was baptizing. He walked past at a little distance, remembering his own baptism of six weeks earlier, and John who saw him coming later described his appearance, "We saw his glory like that of the first-born of the Father, full of grace and truth."

John must have thought much on him whom he had baptized a few weeks earlier, watching, hoping to see him once more. So it was with a great thrill of recognition that he caught a glimpse of that wondrous figure coming from the direction of the wilderness.

Seeing him thus approach, John explained to the persons about him, "Behold, there is the Lamb of God; it is he who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I spoke when I said, 'After me a man is coming who takes rank before me.' He is the first-born of the flock.

"For this man who comes after me is yet ahead of me, because he was before me. Before I was born, he already was. I did not know him, but the very reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

And John went on to repeat the story of Jesus' baptism: "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and resting upon him. I did not know him, but He who sent me to baptize with water had told me, 'When you see the Spirit coming down upon someone and resting upon him, you will know that this is he who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

"I saw it myself, and I have borne witness. This is God's Chosen One." (Or, as some say, "This is the Son of God.")

Jesus passed by without openly speaking; though his gaze met that of John with understanding and appreciation. He allowed his footsteps to be led until he stood before a small vacant hut, such as was sometimes used by those who guard the crops in the field. There was also a fruit tree to provide nourishment, but he could take very little after such a long fast.

The next afternoon he again walked toward the river, near where John was standing with two of his disciples, and John, looking at Jesus while he walked, said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

This was a repetition of what he had said the day before, and it impressed the disciples very much, bringing to mind the customary lambs sacrificed in the Temple every day to cleanse the people of their sins. This lamb would also pay their penance.

Because they were the disciples of John they believed his words that this man was to take away the sins of all men. So they followed after Jesus to find out more about him.

When Jesus turned, he saw them following him and asked, "What are you looking for?" They answered, "Rabbi, (or Teacher), where are you staying?" "Come and see," Jesus answered.

This took place about four in the afternoon, or the tenth hour since dawn. So the disciples went and saw where he was staying and spent the rest of the day with him, and on into the night as he quietly discoursed with them, answering their questions about God and Eternal Life. He had the gift of reading souls and that supreme art which knows how to speak a word in season to all.

These two disciples of John had also come here from Galilee, being fishermen and residents of the town of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. The one, Andrew, is mentioned by name but the other by his anonymity is believed to have been the writer, the beloved Apostle John, who out of modesty omitted his own name.

John as the youngest of all the apostles, and was probably barely twenty years of age at this time, a youthful seeker of the Way of God.

After their talk with Jesus, the enthusiasm of these men was boundless. They had found the Savior! Of that they were sure, and John the Baptist had testified to this. Andrew could not wait to tell his brother Simon, who had come with him to Jordan. In his excitement and joy, he cried out to his brother, "We have found the Messiah!" and persuaded Simon to go with him to meet Jesus.

Jesus looked intently into the craggy face of this sturdy, unpolished diamond, then said, "So you are Simon, the son of Jona (or John?) You shall be called 'Cephas.' " Cephas is the Aramaic word for "rock," and "Peter" is the Greek version of the same word; so Simon was henceforth called Cephas or Peter, and sometimes Simon Peter. His impulsive nature seemed to contradict this designation, but Jesus had seen beneath the surface an unshakable soundness of character.

The next day Jesus decided to return to his native province of Galilee to consolidate forces for the work ahead. The others were also ready to travel by the same way, for the three new converts were all fishermen of Bethsaida in Galilee, where their jobs and their parents awaited them, and there, too, was Peter's wife.

The followers of John were not bound to him by any vow. Having been seekers of righteousness and truth, they had believed John's teaching and had repented of their sins to be baptized by him.

In this state of newfound grace, they were highly receptive and enthusiastic, truly open and ready for the spiritual riches which Jesus brought them. So with him they left the Jordan Valley and traveled north toward their homes.

Walking the road which leads parallel to the River Jordan, they felt themselves in a new dimension, overwhelmed by this new Teacher and by turns exuberant and thoughtful. Going along with him, they could only wonder at the fate that had led them there.

They were lowly fishermen among the many persons on earth who were more grand and holy than they, or at least acted that way. For them to discover the Messiah whose coming had been sung for centuries humbled them. Yet they knew it was he, and they could only rejoice at being here in his presence, for it was a Presence indeed. They could feel the great glow that flowed out from him.

By night as they rested beside a small fire -- for there was little desire for sleep in those days -- his warmth spread over them like a cloak. And at noontime, when they found a shelter from the scorching sun, they could feel a tingle run through them like a chill, something they felt sure no one had ever felt before.

Certainly no man had ever talked as he did, with a voice that penetrated their being thrillingly, and whose words seemed to engrave themselves on their consciousness and changed their whole concept of everything, not intellectually, but through changes that took place within themselves. His words carried enlightenment and life. It was now part of them.

In the company of one who spoke as though he knew God truly, they began to feel themselves almost as beings from another time and place and could view life with a whole new perspective and dimension. They saw all things new and had many glimpses of great Cosmic Realities as he opened his mind unto them, just a little.

Finally approaching the broad expanse of the Sea of Galilee at its southern point, the three disciples prepared to go to their homes in Bethsaida on its northern shore. While Jesus would go on inland to Nazareth to acquaint his mother with all that had taken place and receive her blessing before he finally went forth to fulfill the mission for which they had both been born.

But the disciples were loath to leave their new Teacher just yet, so he decided to take them also to meet his mother and receive her blessing as his first disciples and that they might know her as their own mother henceforth, also.

On the road near Nazareth they met a man named Philip who came from Bethsaida, the same as the others, but he was enroute to a wedding in Cana, his former town, where he still had many friends.

Jesus took one look and knew at once that this was another who had been sent to serve with him, so he said to Philip very simply, "Follow me." Philip thrilled to the sound of his voice and felt the compelling power of this man; he had no choice but to heed the command and continued on with the others, wondering how this could be.

On reaching his home, Jesus learned that Mary was at Cana, a few miles north, attending the wedding of a young Nazareth woman distantly related to her family. And Jesus was also invited to go there along with his disciples.

Weddings were gala events with much merriment, designed to brighten the lives of these hardworking people and were welcomed enthusiastically by all. These were also sacred occasions intended to promote new life dedicated to Yahweh.

Relaxing after their long journey, they all spent a quiet night with Jesus at his house in Nazareth, then went on to pass a few hours at the joyous festivities in Cana, where their friends were. Nearing Cana Philip ran on ahead to the house of an old friend named Nathaniel and called to him with excitement, "We have met a man spoken of by Moses in the Law and by the prophets: it is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth!"

Nathaniel was more often called Bartholomew, which means "son of Tholmai." He was skeptical, or perhaps a little sarcastic, in answering, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Evidentially his opinion or his knowledge of that town was not very high.

But Philip persuaded him, saying, "Come and see."

When Jesus saw him coming, he said, "Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no guile!"

Nathaniel asked, "How do you know me?"

And Jesus answered, "Even before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

Nathaniel marveled at this, for he had been contemplating the Scriptures beneath his fig tree, as was his custom, and things had been revealed to him that went beyond the written script. Jesus had picked up what he was seeing, and Nathaniel understood this, declaring with awe, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel."

Jesus said to him "Is that the basis of your faith, that I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You shall see greater things than that. In truth, in very truth, I tell you all you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Cana

Jesus and his disciples had passed some vineyards on their way to Cana. Just outside the town stood a large winepress, so after their two-hour walk in the early morning sun, they were quite prepared to enjoy a little of the fruit of the vine along with the other guests, many of whom Jesus knew. Wine for weddings was held rather special. In Arabia today one sees earthen jars in a dark corner set aside not to be touched until there is a wedding in the family.

The wedding festival had already been in progress a couple of days, and people were rejoicing indeed! Jesus had wanted to tell Mary, "The mandate has come . . . " but with so many people milling about there was no chance to speak privately with her. However, she had seen him enter after an absence of two months, and she stood very still looking at him.

This was not her son of old, except in appearance. This was a new man with a radiance shining out from him such as neither she nor any other had ever seen. It was evident that her eyes alone could see this Light; for to the others present he was still Jesus from Nazareth. She saw the entranced look on the faces of his followers, how their eyes hardly left his face at any time and how they hung on his every word, and she went aside for a bit to pray and to praise God that this great day had come at long last. She could share this only with Him Whose Son this Man was, and to Whom she must now fully give him over.

Mary was a respected guest here, and had been assisting as well with the preparations for the feast, so the servants acquainted her with the alarming fact that they had run out of wine, and there were still many hours to go, with many extra guests beyond those expected. How could they handle the situation?

Normally they might have scoured among the neighbors to procure more, but this was embarrassing, and Mary saw a simpler way. When Jesus eventually reached her side, she let him know that she already was aware of the great change in him. So she said, "They have no wine." He knew at once what she was saying, but was not yet ready to proclaim his hand before the public. He needed time to gather forces and to quietly prepare the ground before going on open display.

So he said, "Woman, what have I to do with this? My hour has not yet come." The literal translation of this in the Vulgate is, "Quid mihi et tibi?," which means "What (is that) to me and to thee?" He questioned what this had to do with his mission, and why they should feel concerned with another's hospitality.

She displayed both tactful diplomacy and quiet authority by leaving the decision up to him, with these words to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Her years in Temple service had taught her the value of symbolism, and she knew that the alchemy in such an action would begin his ministry in a new key of great potency.

She also knew that he was capable of this, for once in their own home, after an evening meal when they all sat about in quiet conversation, as each lifted his cup of drinking water to his lips he found that the liquid in his cup was fine wine instead. Only Mary knew that she had filled the cups with water, and she told no one. She felt now was the time to let it be known to family and friends that he was the Messiah sent for their salvation.

Jesus saw that this could be done without public knowledge, in the presence of only the servants and his disciples, and he noted the six large stone water jars standing near, of the kind used by the Jews for their purification rites. Each held between twenty and thirty gallons of water, a goodly amount. Jesus told the servants to fill them all with water, which they did, then he commanded them to draw some out and take it to the wine steward, the person in charge of serving the guests.

The wine steward tasted the water which had now turned to wine, not knowing where it came from, and complimented the bridegroom, saying, "Others serve the best wine first and wait until the guests have drunk freely before serving the poorer sort; but you have kept the best wine until now." So the situation was saved by their tact.

This deed at Cana in Galilee is the first of the signs by which Jesus revealed his glory and led his disciples to believe in him, even more certainly than their inward senses had already declared.

Of course, it was not of himself but of the power of God that Jesus performed miracles. For God Who had created all things, as well as the Laws by which they operated, was the Power that presided over these Laws. All things were as they were because God willed them so, and all these mighty and changeless Laws were still subject to God's Will. Therefore, He Who had power to create any system also had the power to control and direct it. The Miracles were not violations of the Laws of creation, but were uses of the Laws in a way that was beyond the authority and understanding of humanity at that time.

Jesus fully knew this Omnipotence of God to the extent that he was part of it and it was part of him. Spirit was the personality of God, and the Spirit of God could do or undo anything, as could one ordained to act in His Name.

After the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus with his mother and brothers and the new disciples walked together the full day's journey to Capernaum beside the Sea of Galilee. Mary was now about fifty years of age, but in excellent health and easily able to keep up with the rest. Their travel was not fast; all were listening intently to Jesus. Nor did Mary wish to miss a word.

In Capernaum they stayed for a few days with friends and relatives while the fishermen went on home, only an hour's journey farther at Bethsaida by the Sea. They had much to tell and much to do, for they supported themselves and their families and knew that they might be called at any time by their new Teacher to go forth to they knew not what.

Temple At Jerusalem

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. John alone, of the four gospels, reported this first trip of Jesus ministry, so he was undoubtedly one of those few who accompanied him.

The Temple must have been a shambles, as a place of worship. At the Passover they slaughtered many thousands of lambs, and daily there were animals awaiting slaughter and carcasses hanging in rows. The air was filled with the odor of burning flesh and the reek of blood, as well as with the clamor of the work going on, the chanting of psalms and prayers, the trumpet blasts, and signals to the people outside.

The elaborate and extensive ceremonies of the Temple required a great number of priests and Levites. At the head of them was the ruling high priest with about 200 of the higher clergy who served as overseers. There were also about 7,800 ordinary priests and about 9,700 Levites of minor clergy, who served, not all at the same time.

The Levitical priesthood receives its name from the tribe of Levi, who were appointed by Moses through his brother Aaron, to administer all priestly functions of the Hebrews. This tribe with their families received the tithe and were thus supported by the rest of Israel.

The high priest was literal head of the whole Jewish nation, which was organized on a foundation of religion, but in the time of Jesus his power had become somewhat lessened, for he was under the temporal watch of both Herod and the Roman procurator. He was the chief minister in the Temple, but not obliged to serve except on the Day of Atonement when only he could enter the Holy of Holies, once yearly.

He was head of the Sanhedrin, the supreme national-religious body of seventy-one members, divided into three groups -- chief priests, influential aristocrats, and thirdly, Scribes, or doctors of the Law. Any case which found jurisdiction under Jewish law could be tried by the Sanhedrin.

The majority of temple priests were a haughty lot, and since they had the proud office of the sacrifice for sins, they did not bother to study the law of Moses as did the Pharisees, but were content to know the detailed rules of their own office, part of which was the slaughtering of animals for sacrifice. It had come to be more of a profession than a spiritual office.

The Temple consisted of three courts on successively higher planes. The Court of the Gentiles was open to everyone and was a favorite meeting place for travelers or friends. A sign was posted forbidding any non-Jew to enter further into the Temple on pain of death. On feast days this area became somewhat of a market place as well, with the animals required for sacrifice on sale here and money-changers who would change the foreign coins of pilgrims into local currency. It was this mercenary display in the Temple which Jesus cleared out.

A few steps up from the outer court was a second court surrounded by thick walls and divided into two parts, the first or outer section of which was the Court of Women, and the second, called the Court of Israel, was for Jewish men.

Still further steps upward brought one to the Court of Priests, where the altar of sacrifice stood open to the sky and where animal sacrifices were offered.

The final steps led one upward to the true Sanctuary, divided into three parts, a vestibule and two chambers. The first chamber was called the Holy Place where stood the shew bread and seven-branched candlestick, and the second and inner room was the Holy of Holies, an empty place since the Ark of the Covenant of Moses was lost. It was here the high priest came once a year only, to offer atonement for the people.

Joined to the northwest corner of the Temple stood the fortress of Antonia which the Roman procurator would use to transact business whenever he came in to Jerusalem from Caesarea. In Jesus' time a few Roman guards wandered about in the Temple to spot any unrest or trouble.

When Jesus visited Jerusalem at his first Passover feast since the baptism, "he found in the Temple those who were selling cattle, sheep and pigeons; and there were the money-changers seated at their tables."

These animals were being sold to such persons as wished to present a sacrifice for their own sins in the Temple, but had not been able to bring any such offerings from their flocks at home. Since many of the Jews traveled some distance for the Passover, some being merchants in Alexandria, or living outside the borders of Palestine in the surrounding foreign territories, money-changing was a logical business to carry on in the proximity of these animal sales.

The money carried into the country by these travelers had to be changed into local currency, and because of changing rulers the currency was not fully standardized, so some knowledge was required to do this.

Such a state of affairs had rankled long in Jesus' heart, and he knew it had to be corrected. The first place to start any reform of people or government is at the heart of their religious worship, at the nucleus of their lives. In a sense, he too had to "make straight the way of the Lord" by clearing a pathway through the debris of His inner sanctuary.

Of course, the original purpose of this outer court of the Temple was not that it should become a raucous public marketplace but rather a place where persons of all faiths and nations could come for a prayerful visit to the Temple of Yahweh, and at least be near His sacred Ark of the Covenant.

Jesus knew this was not to be accomplished by formal discourse or argument; the only way was to do it. As he approached with fire and determination in his eye, one might well have remembered the words of the Psalmist, "Zeal for Thine house hath consumed me." (Psalms 69:9).

"So Jesus made a whip of small cords and drove them out of the Temple -- the sheep, cattle and all. And he poured out the exchange currency of the money-changers from their trays and overturned their tables, scattering the coins."

When he had finished it was as though a tempest had struck the place.

Then he turned on those who sold pigeons and said, "Take these things away. You must not make my Father's house into a trading house."

Was this a gentler note in deference to those innocent and gentle persons who in good faith seek to follow the Law that is handed down from God, the poorer folk who could afford only pigeons? Was it here that his own parents purchased two pigeons which were sacrificed in his behalf as a first-born male infant?

The wild consternation of that scene was the occasion for much flurry and consultation on all sides. He had so taken them by surprise that no one argued with him as he cleared the courtyard, and bystanders remained stunned until all was over. He acted with a clear-cut air of purpose that could belong to no mere rabble rouser. He was carrying the Sword of the Word into action, and they must respect this fiery prophet, who was a stranger to them.

So some of the Jews challenged Jesus, asking, "What sign can you show us as authority for your action?" This seemed reasonable enough, but Jesus could not accomplish this mission with reason, so he spoke to them a prophecy, which they could not understand. He spoke it not for the present but for the ears of the future, especially for his companions, the few who had followed him to Jerusalem, so that they could remember his words when the work was finished, and this would then be a sign to all who had heard. So he answered them thus, "Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up again."

The Jews scoffed, "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" And so saying they walked away, but kept an eye on him after that.

Jesus was speaking of the temple of his own body, wherein burns the Eternal Flame of the indwelling God, but even his disciples would not know the meaning of his words until after he had been crucified and raised from the dead. The saying became engraved on their minds, for they were as amazed as the others, but they treasured all his actions and sayings, sharing them as children who both watch and learn. From this statement it is clear that Jesus by now knew the whole Path that would have to be traveled, and he was in serious earnest.

There were other signs that Jesus did while at the Passover Feast, and because of these strange doings many came to believe in his name. But Jesus entrusted himself to no one, confided in none, for he knew their hearts and minds, and could read them with such clarity that he needed none to tell him anything about a person.

Nicodemus

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a highly reputed member of the Sanhedrin who saw some of the signs performed by Jesus and was convinced by them. But he valued his position and dared not openly acknowledge an interest in this new prophet lest he run counter to the Jews and antagonize them. So he came to visit Jesus at night when he could come unobserved and said to him, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher of God, for no one can do such signs as you do unless God is with him."

Using the word "we," he must have been speaking for some of his fellows as well, for Jesus was being roundly discussed by the priests in Jerusalem. The soil there was well prepared for spiritual works, ready for planting; John the Baptist had stirred it up well with his call to repentance and had wakened the populace and the priesthood to the more basic spiritual realities, so that their conscience was beginning to prickle. The timing of his visit by night indicates not only secrecy, but the darkness of understanding from which his questions were asked.

Jesus answered him, "I speak to you truly; unless one is born anew (or again) from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." To be born anew is when we are reborn after illumination is experienced.

The words "from above" give us the Key. Every human is born from the womb of an earthly mother, and even God used this process to bring forth His Son. John the Baptist, too, had been born of an earthly mother, and Jesus once said, "I tell you that among those born of women, there has appeared none greater than John the Baptist; yet he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

There is a level of greatness that can come to all through processes of evolution as man progresses through experience here on earth to ever greater spiritual heights. But John, the forerunner, symbolized the apex of that type of attainment. Even the very least who has attained unto the kingdom of God has reached a level above that. And how does one enter the kingdom? He must be born again, the second time, this time obviously not from the womb of an earthly mother, but from Above, and that means through the Heavenly Mother.

Mary had been the earthly mother of Jesus, and the highest woman on earth, but when Jesus rose out of the waters of baptism, he was rising out of the waters of the womb of his Spiritual Mother in heaven. When the Holy Spirit alighted on his head, this was confirmation of his higher birth as God said, "This is My Beloved Son," and he released his former involvement with human relationships. Although he did not personally need this experience, having previously gone beyond, and although she too was of a high level, Jesus had to do all this to prefigure what mankind must go through in order to experience the second birth from the womb of his Mother in heaven.

Mankind, while still on earth, is taken in hand by the Heavenly Mother, but only when he approaches the attainment of the higher initiations. He is carried in Her Womb without even knowing about it, until that great day when he is reborn and becomes fully one with the Father, who claims him then. The Mother's work is preparatory and so unexplainable that man only knows something strange is happening to him, that he is becoming a changed being, but he charges that experience to all sorts of causes except the True One.

That is why Jesus, who so dearly loved his mother Mary, could speak as he did when she came to visit him with his brothers, while he taught those disciples who were working with him to bring people into the kingdom of heaven. When a bystander spoke to Jesus, "Behold, your mother and your brethren are standing outside, and they wish to speak with you." Jesus answered, "Who is my mother and who are my brethren?" And pointing his hand to his disciples he said, "Behold my mother, and behold my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother."

In this he was not disparaging anyone, but only indicating that he had entered into a new dimension, a new family relationship which only included those of the Second Birth into the Father- Motherhood of God in heaven. Jesus only used the term Father, but to be "born again" of Spirit implies being born not of a Father alone, but out of a spiritual womb.

When his earthly mother and brothers and sisters should reach the point where they could properly lay aside earthly matters with which they were then engaged, accordingly as they too came fully into the higher Life of God, they could be included with his disciples as mother, brothers and sisters. For if even Jesus needed to submit to being born again, how much more the others of his family!

Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can a man be born again? Can he enter again a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered saying to him, "I tell you truly, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

Jesus had himself been born of both water and the Spirit at his baptism, not of water alone, or with the removal of past sins; but also with the descent of Spirit unto him.

"That which is born of flesh is only flesh, and the Spirit can only be born from Spirit. Do not marvel because I said that you must be born anew, or from above. The wind blows where is pleases and you hear its sound; but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

He used a simile here, of the blowing wind and the Spirit, for the same word in eastern languages "Ruach" means both "wind" and "spirit" - both are moving, both invisible, both equated with the Breath of the Almighty. This word also means "ghost," so the same term is variously translated as Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost.

Jesus continued to talk to Nicodemus. This discussion made a profound impression on his hearers, for it was the first teaching of any length which was repeated in the Gospels. Their visitor was a learned man, well-versed in Scripture. Nicodemus asked him now, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered him, "You are a master of Israel, teaching others, and yet you do not understand these things? I tell you in very truth, we speak only what we know, and testify only to what we have seen; but you do not accept our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how then will you believe me if I tell you about heavenly things?

"No man has ascended to heaven except him who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man whose home is in heaven."

The Son of Man and the Son of God are the same thing, only the perspective is different. In his own eyes, "looking up" to God, he is the Son of God, being born anew of Him. In God's eyes, "looking down," he is His Son of Man, among men, and the home of His Son is always in heaven. For this Son is never born of earth, but descends from heaven as a Light entering a lamp, and at the end of the man's earthly term, this Light returns to heaven whence It came, taking the innermost essence of the man with it, where man of earth could never go.

"This Son of Man must be lifted up, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

"The Son of Man must be lifted up" does not mean he is to be exalted in glory and praise, but lifted up in inward power of function, the serpent also signifying the Kundalini, which in uninitiated men is still crawling and biting them.

There were two ways Moses was directed to lift up the serpent. The first was to throw his rod on the ground, where it became a serpent. He had to grasp it by the tail and lift it up, in order to turn it back into a rod again; with the power so generated, miracles could be performed.

Moreover, this power was shown as greater than that of the magical arts. For when Aaron, the first Levite priest, threw the rod down in front of Pharaoh, the magicians were also able to use their knowledge and did the same thing.

The rod of Aaron was greater and swallowed up all the other serpents, thereby showing the superiority of priestly arts when you are working with God over magic alone.

The second way was to fashion a brazen serpent and place it on a pole to heal the Israelites of their serpent bites and save their lives. (Brass is the metal of Venus.) Jesus, too, was a living Rod of Miracles; and when crucified and lifted to the cross, he became a healer of deadly wounds. In both cases the tempter of Eden was conquered and used for man's liberation.

Here Jesus gives a good explanation of why he could not throw himself down from the pinnacle at the demand of the tempter. Only by being lifted up himself and paving the way for others, setting the example, could he make it possible for them to attain to heaven also. It was his mission to provide a break-through.

"For God so loved the world that He even gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him will not be condemned; and he who does not believe has already been condemned for not believing in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Jesus did not come primarily to judge but to rescue the drowning humanity and earth. However, if they refused his hand, they judged him untrustworthy and brought judgment upon them- selves through unbelief. "And this is the judgment wherewith man is judged, that Light has come into the world and yet men have loved darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does detestable things hates the Light, and he does not come to the Light lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does deeds of Truth comes to the Light so that it may be made known that his works are done through God."

The burglar prefers to work in darkness, what could he accomplish otherwise? As soon as the light turns on, his burglary days are over.

Though Light is offered, some people are not willing just yet to accept the way of God. They want to wait awhile and finish up the fun or problems they are enjoying, the unlighted works, until they can no longer endure them. Then they will seek the better way.

Living in the Light necessitates becoming transparent as a glass house, to let your Light radiate forth as from a lamp, having no guilty thing to hide from view; becoming simple and guileless as a child, yet wise, fearless and mighty in the purposes of God.

John's Witness

After Nicodemus' visit, Jesus remained for some time in Judea, but he moved away from the treacherous city area and went toward the north where open country afforded him more freedom of action -- away from the suspicious gaze of the Sadducees and Pharisees. The place where he stayed was in a cove along the Jordan, and here we find that Jesus' disciples began baptizing after the manner of John.

John, too, was still baptizing farther north at Aenon, near Salim, because water was plentiful in that region, and people were constantly coming to him for baptism, for this was before John's imprisonment.

Some of John's disciples had fallen into a dispute with the Jews about purification; so they came to John and said, "Rabbi, there was a man with you on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you bore witness. Now he is baptizing here, and crowds of people are flocking to him."

John's answer to them was, "A man can have only what God gives him. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Messiah; I have been sent as his forerunner.' It is the bridegroom to whom the bride belongs. The bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens to him, is overjoyed at hearing the bridegroom's voice and this joy, this perfect joy, is now mine. As he grows greater, I must grow less."

The Gospel of St. John declares: He who comes from above is above all others; he who is from the earth belongs to the earth and uses earthly speech. He who comes from heaven bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his witness.

To accept his witness is to attest that God speaks true. For he whom God sent utters the words of God, so measureless is God's gift of the spirit.

The Father loves the Son and has entrusted him with all authority. He who puts his faith in the Son has hold of eternal life, but he who disobeys the Son shall not see that life; for God's wrath rests upon him.

One speaks most of what he knows, and Jesus Christ knows God and the life of heaven, so he is qualified as none other to talk about it. John was with many exhortations appealing to the people to repent; and by his speech he was on God's behalf, also scourging the rulers of Israel. He belonged to no party or sect and spoke freely his judgment. The religious rulers seemed to find no reason for stopping him, but Prince Herod, rebuked by John over the affair of his illegal wife, added this greater misdeed to a long list of evils by shutting John up in prison in the dungeons of Macherus.

It is probable that the Pharisees had some share, directly or indirectly, in the imprisonment of John. Disquieted by his exceeding popularity with the people, and anxious to be rid of this annoying reformer, the Pharisees shrewdly played upon the resentment toward him in Herod's court. John's placement in the remote military stronghold of Macherus in the extreme south of Perea seemed intended to remove this menacing instigator of the Messianic movement as far as possible from the multitudes who flocked to hear him.

For Herod sent and had John seized and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married unlawfully. For John had told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and so he kept him safe.

At John's speech he was much perplexed, and yet he enjoyed conversing with the prophet and heard him gladly. Rascal that he was, Herod was loath to harm this man of God, whose fiery zeal together with the supreme purity and austerity of his life made him seem superhuman to the king whose own life was of such opposite extremes.

About this time there reached the ears of the Pharisees another report which said, "Jesus is winning and baptizing more disciples than John," although in fact it was only the disciples who were baptizing and not Jesus himself. Now when he heard this story and that of John's arrest, Jesus withdrew from Judea and set out once more for Galilee, knowing what that sort of popularity would expose him to and needing all the time possible to accomplish his full ministry, which was only just begun. His hour had not yet come, and it was needful to retire from the first warning of strife. So he directed his journey towards Galilee, taking the road through Samaria, with Capernaum as his destination.

Thus ended the witnesses of John to the coming of our Lord. For this he had come and would live on awhile in prison, but his work was now finished. He had performed a function like that of gathering storm clouds and early sprinkles of rain which herald a storm and warn the populace to prepare themselves; but when the deluge comes down, it absorbs in itself the preliminary shower and takes over the whole with great thunderings and lightnings. Thus had Jesus begun baptizing, absorbing the preliminary work of John, baptizing even more than John (not he, but his disciples, to show the distinction). And then after John's imprisonment, to quote St. Matthew: "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "

Galilee, toward which Jesus now bent his footsteps, is at the northern end of Palestine and was occupied in Jesus' time by a much smaller group of Jews than was Judea in the southern part where Jerusalem was located.

Modes of Travel

The most common means of land travel in those days was on foot. Jesus walked continuously during his ministry and so did his disciples; later Paul made many long journeys on foot. The people were accustomed to traveling at least once each year to Jerusalem, so this trip was very common. The roads were worn smooth by heavy travel, by pilgrims, soldiers, students, merchants and message-bearing couriers, even caravans, so they were not difficult to follow, nor particularly lonely.

Donkeys were also commonly used. The Near Eastern Donkey is a strong, sure-footed animal, good-natured and inexpensive, and he travels at a comfortable gait. They were used either to ride upon or to carry burdens. Mary probably used one in her youthful journeys.

Camels were well-known too, but more expensive, and they served better for long journeys into other countries, or for commercial purposes, as they could carry heavy loads for long distances through regions where food and water were scare. They were not docile or very reliable for personal use.

Horses were costly, so their use was limited mainly to persons of wealth or high office, or military personnel.

The Element Water

Because we are moving from the consideration of Water in its use on the outside of man for washing away his sins to a consideration of its inward use as spiritual water welling up from within, let us look at some of the mystical meanings of this element.

Water is a primordial element, not enumerated among the works of Creation, and thus its existence was presupposed. God brought floods of water to wash the whole earth of its evils in the time of Noah. And Moses, which means "taken out of the water," was so-named because the Egyptian princess drew him from the river.

Water is the symbol of the great feminine Principle, the substance of which the universe is formed. It is the solvent of all things, wherewith all are melted together in common bond.

Water is a conductor of electricity, and the water-bearer is the symbol of the Aquarian or electrical age. Jesus told the disciples to follow a man with a pitcher of water when they sought the upper room to celebrate the Passover.

Water is also a symbol of the psychic, or astral, of the Soul and of the waves of emotion. It we keep all these things in mind, it will help us to understand some of the actions of Jesus as he taught.

Samaria

Galilee was somewhat cut off from Judea, in that one had to traverse across the area occupied by the Samaritans, a people unfriendly to the Jews -- and not without cause. This hostility was still strong in the days of Jesus, and there was some danger of violence when passing through Samaria on the road to Jerusalem. Many Galileans went out of their way to avoid it, skirting Samaria by passing instead through the valley of Jordan on the east, or across the plain of Sharon near the Mediterranean on the west.

Samaria had been settled by foreigners imported in an earlier day by the Assyrians, and these became mixed with the Israelites of the land. Originally worshipping foreign gods, they had gradually fused with the Israelites and joined them in worshipping Yahweh. When the Temple came to be built in Jerusalem around 500 B.C., following the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, the local Samaritans offered their services to help with the building, being part Jew and considering it would be their Temple of worship as well.

But the Jews contemptuously spurned their offer, and after that the Samaritans began to retaliate by heckling their building efforts and even had the efforts temporarily halted by complaining to the Persian government which was then ruling over Palestine; so a schism grew between them. The Samaritans eventually built their own Temple to Yahweh on Mt. Gerizim where they then worshipped instead of at Jerusalem, but this Temple was destroyed and the area ravaged in 108 B.C. by Jews under John Hyrcanus. The ruins of the Temple were still extant and the mountain, stripped of its sanctuary, was still a place of prayer to the Samaritans, for survivors of the religious sect called it holy and blessed.

The Samaritans also awaited a Messiah, and in 35 A.D., after Jesus' crucifixion, a false Messiah offered to show them the sacred vessels on Mt. Gerizim and precipitated a massacre which brought about the dismissal of Pontius Pilate from office, since the tragic affair was by his unauthorized plan.

Meanwhile, the Jews looked down on the Samaritans and would have nothing to do with them, despising them even more than the pagans. So it is no wonder the Samaritan woman was surprised when Jesus spoke to her. It was around noon ("the sixth hour" since dawn), when Jesus and his companions reached a place forty miles north of Jerusalem, at a crossroads near the town of Sychar (which means "folly"). It was located at the southeast entrance to a pass between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, where the main highways converge. This fortunate situation near the two routes of communication between east and west, north and south, gave it a great commercial importance. Many persons passed here traveling from Egypt to Mesopotamia, or from the Mediterranean to points beyond Jordan. The disciples went off to the nearby town to buy food for their meal while Jesus, wearied by the journey, sat down by the well to rest.

The place was venerable with memories of the past, and as he relaxed, a faint scent of the mixed odors of centuries touched his nostrils, and there flashed before him some of the historied memories of this spot, for here was the well of his ancestor Jacob and close by was the field which Jacob had given to his favorite son, Joseph, for an inheritance and where Joseph's remains were eventually brought from Egypt to be buried. There have been several towns in the same area during the course of history, but Sychar was near Shechem and may have been later called Balata- Sichem, or Tell Balata, about one and one-half miles from the well. The well is still there today, 75 feet deep, its water cool and refreshing, though now housed inside a structure.

Jesus remembered the scriptural passages:

"And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, and from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the plot of land on which he pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel (God, the God of Israel.)"

Years later as he was dying, Jacob said to his son Joseph, "I have given to you one mountain slope which I took from the hand of the Amorites." And in the Book of Joshua also, this place was mentioned: "The bones of Joseph which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt were buried at Shechem, in the portion of ground which Jacob bought . . . which became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph."

Jesus put the past behind him and became one with the midday sun, having no other thought. A woman of that area approached to draw water and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." This startled her that a Jew should condescend to speak to a Samaritan, and a woman at that, for the Jews have no dealing with Samaritans and do not use vessels in common with non-Jews. So she asked, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?"

Jesus with the woman at the well.

Here was another symbolic act of Jesus. Just as he had asked John to baptize him before he himself went forth to baptize others -- so now he asked this woman for a drink of traditional water before himself going forth to give the living waters of Spirit to others that spiritual refreshment might always be on tap within each being. The "waters" of heaven are a feminine symbol, so it was proper he should ask it of a woman.

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks a drink of you, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

This was mystifying, but she could only approach it factually, so she said, "Sir, you have no leather bucket to dip with, and this well is deep. How can you give me 'living water'? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself, he and his sons and his cattle, too?"

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water that I shall give him will never suffer thirst any more. The water that I shall give him will be in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The well of Jacob had sustained the human bodies of many, but the well-spring of the Lord brought everlasting refreshment to sustain man's spiritual rather than his physical life. It was a secretly fed spring which none could find except through the Christ.

"Sir," said the woman, still practical, "Give me that water that I may not thirst and need not come here any more to draw water." Jesus told her then, "Go call your husband, and come here." -- knowing what she would say.

She answered, "I have no husband," and Jesus said to her firmly, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." She stared at him, stunned but impressed by this sign and by his direct, vigorous speech. So she replied, seeking his wisdom, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our Fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the temple where God should be worshipped is in Jerusalem."

The "mountain" was the site of their ruined Temple. For centuries their outcast state had kept the Samaritans strangers to the religious development of Israel, so they had received only the teachings of Moses and the older prophets. The prophet they awaited was in the nature of a religious reformer, a spiritual messenger, whereas the Jews awaited one of universal dominion, the deliverer who God promised would rise out of the land of Judah.

"Believe me, woman," Jesus said, "the time is coming when neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will they worship the Father. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; but we worship what we do know, for salvation comes from the Jews. But the time approaches, indeed is already here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father also desires worshippers such as these. For God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

His words came true in the literal sense (of worshipping in Jerusalem or on the mountain) not too long after he spoke them, for the Arabs and others took over Palestine after the Jews fled. The spiritual prophecy is only now coming into recognized reality. How far mankind had come from such true worship in the Spirit, having fallen into outer forms of worship and forgetting the inner truth. But they must eventually all come to that high state of which Temple ritual is only a pattern.

The woman said, "I know that the Messiah (Christ) is coming; when he is come, he will teach us everything." This simple statement of direct faith impelled Jesus to reveal to her what he would not tell the Pharisees later on. This, in fact, is the first record of his having revealed to anyone that he was the Messiah. For he spoke just as simply as she, "I am he who is speaking to you."

At that moment his disciples returned and were astonished to find him talking with a Samaritan woman, but no one said to him, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" Despite their surprise, they showed sufficient respect and tact toward their teacher not to question the reason for his conversation. They were surprised because this was not only a despised Samaritan, clearly not a person of high honor, but besides that it was not customary for a Jewish man, especially a rabbi, to engage publicly in conversation with any woman, not even his wife.

The rabbis, with bitter pride, would not even teach a woman, saying, "Throw the words of the Law into the fire, rather than to communicate them to women." Since the ministry had only begun, this was probably the first woman who had queried him, or to whom he had given any teaching, and they were not as yet taught concerning his stand on this.

Here Jesus began his custom of picking up those who had the greatest need of consolation and help. Throughout his ministry it would be the lost sheep who would listen to him out of their need. In the act of talking to her, he cut through several barriers of centuries' duration in the sight of his disciples, showing them that none of their prejudices could remain in this work.

Among the despised and rejected they would find the ground mellowed and prepared to receive his word. And besides that, he had "broken down the middle wall of partition" between the Jews of northern and southern Palestine, melting a way through and "making both one."

Too excited at the Messiah's marvelous revelation to continue her task, the woman put down her water jar there and ran off to the town crying out to everyone she met, "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" Eagerly they grasped at the news, and coming out of town, they made their way toward him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, have something to eat," for all had been famished from their journey. But he said, "I have food to eat of which you know nothing." At this the disciples said to one another, "Can someone have brought him some food?"

But Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work." He was about to feast on the harvest of souls.

The two incidents which took place here, the one of living water which precluded thirst, and the other of food which is performance of the Will of God, show the relative importance and duration of earthly food and drink, as compared to the heavenly.

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months more, and then comes the harvest?' But look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see how the fields are already white for the harvest." They looked to behold the Samaritans hurrying toward them from the town and glimpsed what he meant by the swift ripening of the harvest.

Jesus was referring to an old farmer's custom, when one had planted his crop, he would sign with relief, saying, "Another four months and the harvest will be ready." For that is about the length of time required for the growth and maturing of a crop. But though Jesus and his disciples had only just begun their planting, they need not wait even one day for the harvest. The example was before them: it was instantaneous. Indeed, others had already planted much here, so there was always fruition from the work of those gone before. For the patriarchs and prophets had cast God's word on earth as divine Seed, where it had slumbered for centuries, but now at his Voice, it would awaken into swift action and was to become a harvest ripe for the sickle of his disciples.

"He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

The Samaritans gave him an enthusiastic reception and begged him to abide with them. Their hostile prejudices quickly vanished; Jesus yielded to their request, he went to Shechem and remained there two days. And many Samaritans of that town came to believe in him, because of the woman's testimony.

Many more became believers because of what they heard from his own lips. They told the woman, "It is no longer because of what you told us that we believe, for now we have heard him ourselves; and we know that this is in truth the Saviour of the world."

They had been impressed at the woman's testimony to Jesus' sight, that he could see all her life without being told. Prophets are always wondrous persons, above nationality, and they welcomed him warmly, knowing no boundaries of spirit. But after two days, they needed no longer the testimony of another in order to believe in him, for the riches of his teaching and talking to them during that time fully convinced them. He lifted them out of the contempt of ages, under which the Jews had overwhelmed them; and as they believed in Moses, they believed in this prophet whom Moses had foretold, and they saw in him the Saviour of mankind.

Jesus knew that his kingdom was to be opened to the humble and disinherited, the weak and poor, those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. For unless a man has thirst, how shall he be seeking something to satisfy it? And if he be satisfied with earthly drink, how shall he be empty enough to seek the heavenly? The more a man is pleased with himself, his power, his science, and his false virtue, the more opposed he becomes to the influence of Christ. It is when false pride has been thrown down, often by misery, that the soul opens to any hope and can receive the greatest good of all.

In His Own Country

After his enthusiastic reception by these Samaritan strangers, Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned once more to Galilee, predicting to the disciples that a prophet would find no honor in his own country, ("and neither does a physician cure those who know him.")

At first this seemed not the case, for the Galileans he met welcomed him warmly, some of them having been in Jerusalem when he cleared the Temple and having seen other things he did there at the Passover Feast they were expecting great manifestations from him now.

He by-passed for now the fork of the road which led toward Nazareth and went on to Cana where Nathanael lived. From here the disciples began to disperse, each to his own home. Returning here to the scene of his first miracle to perform a second completed a cycle for Jesus. The first turn of the wheel (meaning of the word "Galilee") was completed, and this had taken them from Cana to Capernaum; to Jerusalem, to Jordan, and back to Samaria to Cana once more. Now he would begin a new and different cycle.

The homecoming disciples soon spread abroad the news that Jesus had returned, the word reached the ears of a certain nobleman and official who lived at Capernaum by the Sea. Hearing that Jesus was there he made the journey in person to beg him to come to Capernaum and heal his son, who was at the point of death.

Jesus, who thought more of healing souls than bodies, spoke for the benefit of all his hearers, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." He regretted that they had to see something with their physical eyes, and not from within.

Even when he began to show them countless signs and wonders later on, few were changed by them, few continued to believe -- though the report of them throughout the centuries since has undoubtedly helped bolster the faith of Christians.

The official, overcome with concern for the life of his son, pressed him further, saying, "Sir, come down before my child dies." This man was not even a Jew, but his faith was so explicit that it could not be denied, so Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him (for that is the only way the Word can work), and went his way back to Capernaum the next morning. As he came near to the town, his servants met him and told him that his son was living. So he asked them at what hour he had begun to mend, and they answered him, "Yesterday, at the seventh hour the fever left him." The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live," and he himself believed, and all his household.

This was the second miracle which Jesus did when he had come again from Judea to Galilee.

The disciple John, whose witness we have been reporting since the first miracle, now seems to have gone on home to Capernaum in company with the nobleman, for John's own family lived in the next town, in Bethsaida, where they earned their livelihood as fishermen. John makes no further mention of Jesus' ministry in Galilee at this time, returning to take up the story only at the time Jesus left to make his next trip to Jerusalem some time later.

So we now turn to the other three Synoptic Gospels to follow the thread of what happened in Galilee on this visit.

Jesus went briefly to speak to his mother and brethren, then left his home town of Nazareth and went to dwell in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of which the prophet Isaiah spoke:

So Jesus went about in the power of the Spirit preaching the gospel of God and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The time has come and the kingdom of God is upon you. Repent and believe the good news."

The first months were spent in strenuous teaching and continuous activity. Jesus spoke Aramaic, the language of the average man in those days. Fired with a great zeal of the Spirit, he preached wherever the occasion presented itself, in the synagogues, the homes, and the open country.

A little later on in his Galilean ministry, another healing incident took place which was so similar to that which happened at Cana, that it seems well to mention it now. For one day when Jesus was entering Capernaum, there came forth to meet him a centurion, (which is to say a Roman captain over one hundred foot soldiers). Capernaum was a fishing town, but Herod maintained there a garrison to protect the border.

The man beseeched Jesus saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." And Jesus willingly spoke, "I will come and heal him."

But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." (These words, "Lord, I am not worthy . . . ," etc. are repeated in the Roman Catholic Mass.)

When Jesus heard him, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while their descendants, sons of the kingdom, will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."

And to the centurion, Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

In his words about Abraham and the others, he was speaking of the forebears of all the Israelites and the foundation of the nation of those to whom the Messiah was promised. But most of the Jews, who were the "sons of the kingdom," were unbelieving of their wondrous gift of salvation now that it was here, while many non-Jews untaught in religion were showing a simple belief which would gain them a place at the heavenly feast which the Jews were losing by default.

At another time also, he spoke similar words. Someone said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?"

And he answered them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, 'I do not know where you came from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!'

"There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

This was fair enough warning -- here he was teaching them in their own streets, eating and drinking in their presence, offering them the kingdom of heaven, and they knew him not. Should he then know them in heaven?

Jesus began teaching on the Sabbath in the synagogues about Galilee. The usual scene was somewhat as follows: In a closet concealed by a bright-colored curtain to represent the veil of the Temple, the Torah was deposited. A lamp, like those in our churches, was always burning before the roll of parchment on which it was written. In the midst of the hall was a pulpit from which seven readers, three times every week, the Sabbath, Monday and Thursday, read passages from the Law and a portion of the Prophets. Then the reader interpreted in the Aramaean tongue the Hebrew verses which had been read; and the president of the synagogue, or one appointed by him, recited the final benedictions to which the people, standing and turning towards the distant Temple, answered "Amen" in a loud voice.

On benches covered with mats or cushions along the walls or around the pulpit, the congregation, their heads covered with the "taleth" and clad in long tasseled cloaks, were seated, praying in a low voice, rocking their bodies and heads in measured time. The women apart from the men, often stood at the door, little children in arms following. It was quite natural that Jesus should teach them in the synagogues, for there were the audiences ready and waiting, and according to the traditional custom, after the reading of the Scripture, the ruler of the synagogue would invite someone to give the usual preaching or instruction. So Jesus volunteered at such times, as well as often teaching in the homes of those who sought him, or in the open to any who stood about listening, and he was so outstandingly qualified that all welcomed this dynamic new speaker.

As Jesus taught, the people were astonished at his words, for they were spoken as by one who had authority and power -- not as the Pharisees taught, from rote.

On one such Sabbath, there was a man in the synagogue possessed by a devil, an unclean spirit. He shrieked with a loud voice, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God."

Jesus rebuked the entity, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him." Then the entity, after throwing the man down in front of the people, left him without doing him any injury. Amazement fell on them all, and they said to one another, "What is there in this man's words? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."

On leaving the synagogue, he went to the house of Simon Peter's mother-in-law who resided in Capernaum where Jesus was teaching; and he found her in the grip of a high fever. They asked him to help her, so Jesus came and stood over her and rebuked the fever; and as he took her by the hand and lifted her up, immediately the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve them.

By sunset the news of these things had spread about, so all who had friends suffering from one disease or another brought them to him; and he laid his hands on them one by one and cured them. Entities also came out of many of them shouting, "You are the Son of God." But he rebuked them and forbade them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

The people kept him busy nearly all the night so that near daybreak he went out and made his way to a lonely spot, but they sought him even there and urged him not to leave them. Jesus told them then, "I must go to preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, for that is the purpose for which I was sent."

During his ministry he performed many healings of demoniacs, a subject which has often been misrepresented or misunderstood, because we hear so little of demoniac possession in scientific or fashionable circles. Victims of such possession are being concealed beneath the label of mental abnormalities and cast into mental institutions, instead of having the entity cast out of the suffering individual.

In Jesus day the true facts were more simply recognized, and Jesus and his disciples, through the power of God, removed the entities or "devils" as they called them. An honest psychiatrist will admit that he does not understand the cause or cure of many common psychic disorders. Some orthodox churches, when they contact a case of diabolical possession, perform a rite of exorcism, but little is mentioned of such things, so they have fallen into disuse, under a sort of mysterious hush. It requires recognition of the facts to make a return to the only correct way of handling this as Jesus practiced, by removing these parasites of human life, and setting the afflicted one free, returning to sanity him who was never insane.

The Sea Of Galilee

"And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, casting out demons and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people" . . . a vast amount of work capsuled in a few lines.

At some time during his stay in Galilee, whether it was now or later on, as some believe, Jesus came to the town of Nazareth where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue as was his custom on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read, and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the sacred scroll and found the place where it was written:

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Then he taught, and all spoke well of him, wondering at the gracious words which proceeded from his mouth; and they said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the son of the carpenter Joseph? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?"

And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did in Capernaum, do here also in your country.' " (In other words, "Physician, heal your own people.") But they took offense at him, and he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Indeed, a healing depends in large part on the faith of him who is to be healed.)

And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them, he went away.

From that time forward Capernaum, some twenty-odd miles away, became his base of operations. As he moved about Galilee in the performance of his growing ministry, Capernaum was the most logical place from which to work. For it was situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, on the caravan route from Damascus to Egypt and the Mediterranean.

This sea was an active center of Galilean life, and to it or near- by passed most of the roads in Galilee. Travelers and merchants converged about the lake in the course of their activities, and fish from its waters were transported in all directions.

Before Jesus' time this body of water had been called Lake Gennesaret, but during his time it was usually called the Sea of Galilee. Not long after that, it became the Sea of Tiberius -- named for the Gentile city which was built in his youth, on its western shore toward Nazareth.

Jesus did not preach in Tiberius, there being no prepared ground in so new and political a city for teaching at that time. Built and named for the Roman Emperor, it had been planned as a health spa by virtue of the nearby hot mineral springs. These sulphuric springs would sometimes cause hot streams beneath the waters of the lake, near its southern outlet. (Could this sulphrous atmosphere have had something to do with Tiberius' reputation as a sinful city?)

There is no record of Jesus going there. His ministry was for those who awaited the Messiah, and he worked all about the northern end of the lake, and as far as the land of the Phoenicians on the Mediterranean.

The sea itself was like a vast bowl, with openings at the north and south ends where the Jordan flowed in and out again with a flat land area on the northwest shore called the Plain of Gennesaret. The sea is of great age, below sea level and quite deep, almost surrounded by mountains. It is not really a sea at all, but a large fresh-water lake, about thirteen miles long, and eight miles across at its widest part, rich with fish.

Capernaum was situated three miles west of the Jordan River on the international highway, near the border between the territory of Herod Antipas and that of his brother Philip. Because of its border location there was a Roman military and customs post located there. It was a cosmopolitan center to which most Galileans gravitated for their dealings and was also an important center for the fishing industry.

The population was mostly Jewish; the religious life of the people was intense, and not too much disturbed by the Greek influences entrenched a short distance away. Yet Galilee was somewhat despised by ardent Pharisees because of a population mixture, with many Gentiles or non-Jews also living there, and they would accuse Jesus later (John 7:52) saying, "Study the Scriptures and you will find that prophets do not come from Galilee."

Capernaum was about halfway between Magdala to its west and Bethsaida, six miles to the east. Magdala is noted in the Gospels only as the home of Mary Magdalene; but Bethsaida was the home of at least four fishermen disciples. Bethsaida means "house of fishing," and the town was situated across the border in the tetrarchy of Philip.

One day Jesus was at Bethsaida on the shore near the fishing fleets. People were pressing so close, seeking to hear the word of God, that he could scarcely move without entering the water. So seeing two boats standing empty, for the fishermen had gone out of them to wash their nets, he got into one of the boats which belonged to Simon and asked him to put out a little from the shore.

From this point of vantage he was able to talk to the people, teaching them. When he had finished, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." Though reason told him it was no use, he trusted the Master enough to obey him and the results were beyond any normal probability. For when they had done this, they enclosed a great school of fish, and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Never had they seen anything like this!

So they came and filled both the boats with so many fish that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

Peter was an impetuous man of strong feeling, and he was astonished at the catch of fish, as were all they that were with him. His partners in the other boat were James and John, whose father, Zebedee, had a fishing fleet.

Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Henceforth you will be catching men."

The next day, as Jesus walked by the sea, he saw the two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew, who had come with him from Jordan, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, in the boat mending their nets, and he called them also, and immediately they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Then the disciples accompanied him as he went into neigh- boring towns and all about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. So his fame spread even to the north throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

One day a leper came to him beseeching and knelt before Jesus saying, "If you will, you can make me clean."

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean."

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people."

Perhaps you would like to look at what Moses had commanded in such cases, in Leviticus 14: 2-32:

"If the leprous disease is healed in the leper, the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet stuff and hyssop; and the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water . . . "

There is more which includes the washing of clothes and cutting of hair, and further offering after eight days. For his clothing must also be cleansed so as not to retain the contamination.

It is probable that had the leper obeyed, it would have given the priesthood a higher opinion and proof of Jesus' work and healing. As it was, the healed one disobeyed and immediately went out and began to talk freely about his healing to everyone, and spread the news to such an extent that Jesus was no longer able to openly enter a town, but had to remain out in the country, where the people came to him from every quarter.

Some days later he returned to Capernaum, and when it was reported that he was at home, many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door. Sitting by were some Pharisees and doctors of the law who had come in from other towns; and the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal. And while he was preaching the Word to them, four men came carrying a paralytic for him to heal, but they could not get near him, because of the crowd. So someone removed some tiles from the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let him down with the pallet on which he lay, in the midst before Jesus. And when Jesus saw such faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

Some of the scribes and Pharisees sitting there began questioning in their hearts. "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' -- he said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home."

Then the man arose and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all, glorifying God, so that they were all amazed and they too glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this! We have seen strange things today!"

The Hebrew word for "sin" (het' or hetta' ah) may mean either the sin committed or its consequences, and one of the principle consequences of sin, according to Jewish teaching, was physical deformity; thus Jesus' words may have included both the invisible moral guilt and the visible consequence.

Whatever the man had done or thought inside himself in this life or before, that had brought on this stoppage of the action of his muscles -- perhaps a stubborn or continuous refusal to act when it was required that he do so -- Jesus had not merely pronounced the words of healing, he had actually and completely within himself forgiven the man whatever had been the cause of his illness. He saw the man not only physically whole, but he saw the flaw in his character removed, so he was now whole and faultless throughout.

For one does not heal from the outside, but must clear the person of all the load he bears within himself and take it away. In sincerely calling him, "My son," Jesus had removed the barrier of strangeness and gathered him into his own purity and godliness.

Capernaum

Still in Capernaum, Jesus went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them. As he passed on he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax office, and he said to him as he had to the others, "Follow me." And like the others, Levi rose to follow him.

Tax collectors were ill-thought of in those days; not only were they employed by Roman officials, but in some cases were usurers who demanded from the people more than their share in order to pocket the profit; so the tax collectors were despised as sinners in the eyes of the populace. Levi, also known as Matthew, was quite well off; for he made a great feast for Jesus, and when Jesus went to the house of his new disciple to dine with him, there was a large company of tax collectors and many others sitting at table with him.

Scribes and Pharisees, of course, were not only in Jerusalem, but in every place where many people dwelt or traveled through; and here as usual they were watching to see that no one in any way transgressed the written law. Some of them came now and asked the disciples, "Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" For the Jews were required to be very selective about not eating with anyone "unclean."

When Jesus heard this, he answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

And like a physician, he would not avoid those who were ill but enter among them to help. The sheep who are snug by the fireside are quite safe; but the good shepherd must go out and rescue the lost ones from danger, so that they might live.

At a later time, when the Pharisees and scribes were murmuring against him, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them," Jesus related to them this parable:

"What man among you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.'

"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

The Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting at that time, and some people came and asked Jesus, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast often, and offer prayers, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the groom with them, there can be no fasting. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and in that day they will fast."

Then he told them another parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'the old is good.' "

He who is satisfied with what he has already, or who has found what is right for him sees no need to try something different. It is better to start "from scratch" in any new path, and not attempt too much compromise, lest the result be mixed.

John the Baptist was still in the secret dungeons of Machaerus where he waited, restless but with fervor undimmed. He had remained true to his mission, but now that human tyranny might cut off his life from one day to the next, he still had not received confirmation through an open and solemn declaration of the Messiah that his own revelations had been correct.

He was not completely isolated, for Herod nourished a superstitious veneration for John and permitted him to receive in prison the disciples who had remained faithful to him even after Jesus had begun his ministry.

His visitors told him of the stories concerning Jesus, but never had Jesus proclaimed himself the Messiah, and John must know the truth before his death. Perhaps John's disciples were partial to him and did not fully report Jesus' triumphs. But in any case, John desired verification of what he had seen at the Jordan and to be assured his life's mission was successfully completed. Otherwise, how could he even yield to execution, if he must seek further?

So he dispatched two of his disciples to ask Jesus this question, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we expect another?"

Jesus answer was not specific, but neither had he answered others directly. It was rather by his deeds that Jesus was gradually revealing himself as the Messiah. He knew that as soon as it was published openly, that would hasten the end.

When the messengers from John arrived, in that same hour Jesus healed a great many people of their diseases and plagues and of evil spirits; and he gave sight to many blind men. Then Jesus answered them, "Go tell John what you have heard and seen; that the blind recover their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead raised to life, the poor are hearing the good news -- and happy is the man who does not find me a stumbling block." It is difficult to believe that anyone could find in these things an obstacle to faith; but many did then, and many have even until now.

When the messengers were on their way back, Jesus began to speak to the people about John. "What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? If not then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in silks and satins? Surely you must look in palaces for that. But why did you go out -- to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom Scripture says: 'Here is my herald, whom I send ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.' I tell you this: never has there appeared anyone born of woman greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

And all the people who heard it, even the tax collectors, justified themselves before God, for they were baptized by John. But the Pharisees and scribes suppressed the will of God in themselves, because they were not baptized by him. They found in themselves no cause for repentance.

Jesus went on to say, "From the days of John the Baptist unto now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence are taking it by force. For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John appeared; and if you are willing to accept it, he, John, is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus here referred to the ancient prophecy, that before the Messiah appeared Elijah would return to precede him. The doctrine of reincarnation was an accepted "fact of life," requiring no further comment.

"How shall I describe this generation? They are like children sitting in the market-place and shouting at each other, 'We piped for you, and you would not dance.' 'We wept and wailed, and you would not mourn.' In other words, joyful or sad, they would not be pleased -- either with feasting or with fasting, but perversely would ask for just the opposite of what was brought them.

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He is possessed.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, 'Behold a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!' Yet God's wisdom is justified by her results."

Let us conclude the story of John the Baptist now. Though it did not happen all at once, this is what occurred before many months:

Herod protected John as long as he could, but Herodias found an opportunity when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers, and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it." And he grandly vowed, "Even to half of my kingdom."

Then the girl went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And Herodias said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When the disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb, and they went and told Jesus.

When he heard what had happened, Jesus withdrew privately by boat to a lonely place; but people heard of it and came after him in crowds by land and from the towns. It was here then that Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two fishes to feed them, which we will speak of later.

After John's death, Herod the tetrarch began to hear about the many works of Jesus, and he was both perplexed and curious to see him. When he heard of all that was happening, he did not know what to make ot it, and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him."

Reports began to be circulated, and it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he sought to see him.

The Nazarite

You may sometimes hear John referred to as a "nazarite," or an "anchorite." What do they mean? John the Baptist lived like a true nazarite (the word meaning 'one consecrated,' 'devoted,' 'separated,' taken from the verb meaning "to consecrate" or "to vow"). This is not usually thought to refer to the town of Nazareth, or the term "Nazarene" as applied to one from that town, which name had a different root. But Lamsa considers that Nazarites may have settled at Nazareth and mentions the Hebrew word "Nazar," meaning "to take a vow."

A nazarite is not the member of a sect or group, but an individual who has dedicated his life to sacred purposes, either by virtue of mysterious divine endowment, or the vow of his mother. He was a devotee who separated himself unto God.

In early times the commitment was spontaneous and lifelong, expressing the charismatic gifts of the individual. Holy men played a large part in early Israel, being under the power of the Spirit of the Lord. Spontaneity, ecstasy and enthusiasm characterized these persons but the holiness expressed more in psychic and physical forms than in ethical qualities.

It was only in later days that rules were established to govern the behavior of a consecrated one. The three provisions that became marks of his sanctity were:

1. He must avoid wine, strong drink, and all that is produced by the grapevine.
2. For the duration of his separation (the period of his vow), his hair must not be cut.
3. He must avoid the presence of the dead, even though they be his parents.

In earlier times the uncut growth of the hair was for his whole life, and in this case it symbolized the charismatic divine power with which he was endowed. But with the temporary vows, hair, like the blood, symbolized the life of a person. And later laws regulated this so that at the completion of the vow, his hair was cut and put on the fire as a burnt offering; or if he failed his vow the hair was buried, instead of being put on the altar fire.

It is clear that John the Baptist followed this path; it was said that he took no strong drink. John has also been called an "anchorite"; that is to say, one who has withdrawn from the world for religious reasons, a hermit, from the Greek word "anachoreein," meaning "to retire" or "retreat."

Sabbath

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," said the fourth commandment as brought by Moses. And later on was written the severe admonishment: "Every one that defileth the Sabbath shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord."

It is not certain that anyone was ever subjected to the death penalty, but observance of the Sabbath was highly important, unique among the Jews. It had become a day set aside for religious observance and assembly in the synagogue, and the forerunner of our Christian Sabbath services, though the Sabbath is now usually celebrated on Sunday, the Sun's day; while that of the Jews was on Saturday, or Saturn's day, literally the seventh day of the week. The Hebrew word for Saturn is Shabbathai.

Observance of the Sabbath was one of the special marks of Judaism that distinguished them from the Gentiles. The rabbis, over the years, had worked out rules concerning what they thought should be restricted on the Sabbath, and this included such things as prohibiting the lighting of a fire, visiting of the sick, clapping the hands, or jumping, etc.

Reaping was one of the taboos, so that there was a dispute as to whether one could eat an apple which had fallen from the tree on Saturday. It was this rule that caused the Pharisees concern when they saw Jesus and his disciples in the wheat field.

Sabbath laws had grown so strict that a fighting man who was a pious Jew would not even take up arms in self defense on the Sabbath, nor yet negotiate for peace. The Sabbath required abstinence from any effort and activity.

The distance which one was allowed to walk on the Sabbath was called "a Sabbath day's journey," and amounted to a distance of some three-fifths of one mile (originally 2,000 cubits, which is some 3,000 feet).

Such regulations were the meat of the Pharisees' religious principles. It was the Pharisees who kept such laws alive and spent their time disputing them. Jesus brought a new declaration, to free men from the accumulation of such binding restrictions which had outgrown their usefulness: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

There is also an incident in one of the old manuscripts which says, "Seeing a man laboring on the Sabbath, Jesus said to him, 'Man, if thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art thou: but if thou knowest not, accursed art thou and a transgressor of the Law." In other words, one must not go about carelessly breaking laws, for no justifiable reason.

By this time the popularity of Jesus had put the scribes and Pharisees on the alert, and unable as yet to form a definite judgment of this new prophet, they began to watch him, coming even from Jerusalem and from the towns of Galilee and Judea; and as yet they were not aggressive.

When they heard Jesus explanation of why his disciples did not fast, they must have understood they could expect nothing from the new rabbi, for he would never associate himself with the school of any of the teachers of tradition. Still they continued to shadow him with growing attention to his digressions in these respects.

One Sabbath they caught him and his disciples picking off grain to eat as they crossed a field. This was not theft, according to their Law which allowed anyone to glean from the fields, but it was in violation of the Sabbath, for reaping was one of the thirty- nine categories of work prohibited on the Sabbath.

The Scriptures describe it thus. One Sabbath day he was going through the grain fields; his disciples were hungry, and as they made their way they began to pluck ears of grain, and rubbing them in their hands they would loosen the grains to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to them, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"

And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him; how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?

"Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless." And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

And on another Sabbath he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. And the Scribes and Pharisees watched him to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts and he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come and stand here." And the man came and stood by Jesus.

Then the Pharisees asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" And he said to them, "What man of you, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep?

And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole like the other. The Pharisees went out, filled with fury and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, and discussed with one another how they might destroy him.

Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there, and many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

One Sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they were silent. Then he took the man and healed him, and let him go. And he said to them, "Which of you, having an ass or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?" And they could not reply to this.

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity."

And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at the many glorious things that were done by him.

On one of his trips to Jerusalem, at the time of a festival, Jesus offended the Jews there for much the same reason. He was at a pool called Bethzatha or Bethseda, near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. This pool had five porches, and in these lay a great many invalids, blind, lame and paralyzed, waiting for the movement of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in just after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.

One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going, another steps down ahead of me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed, and walk." And at once the man was healed and took up his bed and began to walk (The bed common in that time was just a bedroll or a mat, easy to fold up and carry away.)

Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet." But he answered them, "The man who healed me said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' " They asked him, "Who is the man who told you to take up your bed and walk?"

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you are made whole! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you." The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these works on the Sabbath.

But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working still, and I am working." For this reason the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God.

Chastising The Pharisees

One day Jesus boarded the boat of one of his disciples, and they crossed over to the eastern shore, opposite Galilee. In this area dwelt mostly Greeks and other Gentiles, and these had no taboo on swine such as had the Jews. As he stepped out on land, there met him out of the tombs a man who was possessed by demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. No man could bind him any more, even with a chain. For he had been bound often, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs, he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him, crying out with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me." For he had commanded the unclean spirits to come out of the man.

Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and perished in the waters.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of Gerasenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear.

As Jesus got into the boat to return, the man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the cities of Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

That which most astonished the Jews in the healing of those possessed, was not so much the fact itself as the way in which it was performed. Such cures were not unknown to them, but their own methods were entirely different, laboriously attempted by incantations and invocations of exorcism. Certain formulae for these were preserved in the Talmud, and before pronouncing them, the rabbi would pour a little oil on the head of the sufferer. One of the most efficient talismans was a sacred root called "baaras," which was of the color of fire and difficult to find. But the touch of this root could not be resisted by the evil spirit and was said to cure the individual.

It was the healing power of Jesus that struck the people. For he did not appeal to any extraneous forces; he only had to speak one word, to command the entity, which was subdued, and ejected by this superior divine power and immediately passed out of the person to bring him deliverance.

There was a blind and dumb demoniac brought to Jesus, and he healed him, so that when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke and saw. And the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel. Can this be the son of David?"

But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand; and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

"And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and finding none he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'

"And when he come he finds it empty, swept and put in order. Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it also be with this evil generation.

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

"Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.

"You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

"The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

"I tell you on the day of judgment, men will render account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees challenged him, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."

The crowds were increasing as he answered them, teaching, "This is an evil and adulterous generation; it seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Ninevah, so will the Son of man be to this generation. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

"The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Ninevah will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

"No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light."

While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at a table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner, for their laws contain also many rules for purification. And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside your are full of extortion and wickedness. You fools! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you."

Indeed they outwardly washed themselves, performing the proper ablutions required by the symbolism of their theology, but their hearts and minds were left uncleansed, and not a worthy offering unto God.

"But woe to you, Pharisees!" he continued, "for you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." Yes, they gave the tenth of their crop to the Temple. So also do modern businessmen write off large checks to the church. But do they love God and obey His teaching?

"Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market places. Woe to you; for you are like graves which are not seen; men walk over them without knowing it." Their bodies move about, but the spirit within them sleeps. They are the walking dead.

One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying this you reproach us also." And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed the prophets and you build their tombs.

"Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation.

"Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." He was telling them that all the past deeds (Karma, if you will) of their nation had come to a head in that time in which he came to rectify all things for those who would accept him.

As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to provoke him to speak of many things, lying in wait for him to catch at something he might say.

Then in another place when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." Leaven is the ingredient put in dough to make it fill with gaseous bubbles and rise up increasing in bulk to lighten the density of the mass. That which interests or excites one becomes a leavening agent to him.

"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear; fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

"And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers and authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

The Son of man is manifest in the flesh and anything in the physical realm is seldom perfect, so man might be forgiven for misjudging what little he sees. But the Holy Spirit which brings about manifestation one must not judge, for It is of God Himself.

The Twelve

Now when Jesus returned the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus who was a ruler of the synagogue, and kneeling at Jesus' feet he besought him to come to the house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age and she was dying. He said, "But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."

Jesus rose and followed him, and as he went, the people pressed around him; one of them was a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by any one. According to the Gospel of Nicodemus, her name was Veronica. She had suffered much under many physicians and had spent all she had, but grew worse instead of better. The woman came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; for she said, "If I touch even his garment, I shall be made well," and immediately her flow of blood ceased.

And Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?"

When all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the multitude surround you and press upon you!"

But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; for I perceive that power has gone from me."

And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. She he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

While he was still speaking a man from the house of Jairus the ruler came and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more." But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well."

And when he came to the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and bewailing her but he said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

But taking her by the hand he called, saying, "Child, arise." And her spirit returned, and she got up at once, and he directed that something should be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed; and he charged them to tell no one what had happened, but the report of this went out through all the district.

The number 12 figured strongly in the above healings -- of the twelve-year-old girl and the woman who sought healing for twelve years. And in both, their own Faith was the secret of their access to his power of healing.

Jesus continued to go about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom -- healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. His work load was exceedingly heavy for one alone to bear.

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

So he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they should crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. And whenever those possessed with unclean spirits beheld him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God," but he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The boat was launched into the water, and his disciples remembered well an event of just a few days before, when, as evening approached, Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they had set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep.

And a storm of wind came down on the lake; the boat began filling with water, and they were in danger. So they ran to wake him saying, "Save us, Master, we are perishing!"

And he awoke and said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith." Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them then, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled saying to one another, "What sort of man is this, that he commands even the wind and water, and they obey him?"

But today there was no storm. When they landed, he went out into the hills to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Then when it was day, he called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. From among these he appointed and ordained twelve who would be with him and who would be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons, to heal every disease and infirmity.

Now when Jesus once more saw great crowds around him he gave orders to go back over to the other side of the lake in the boat. And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

To another of the disciples Jesus said, "Follow me," but the man said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Those who are immersed only in the material world are temporarily dead to spirit, and these have the time and the responsibility to care for their own kind and to bury the vehicle from which human life has flown. The disciple is interested only in the lasting life of the Soul, which in this case had already departed.

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say fare well to those at my home." Jesus said to him "No one who who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

There can be no qualifications for the disciple. He must drop all and follow the Master as did the fishermen when Jesus challenged them, "Follow me," nothing more. The degree of commitment is measured according to the value placed on the work. "You have to give all, in order to receive all," as one has said.

Discipleship is a great privilege, and therefore any sacrifice it requires must be met cheerfully and unhesitatingly. The way is narrow that leads to life.

Some feel they cannot choose Christ until first having gone back to change an erring brother. The intent is good, but at that point there is almost nothing he could do for the brother that would come out right. He is still too near the same level and must choose the Lord first to prepare himself, so then he may become strong and wise enough to help lift up his brother and many others as well. Being at the crossroads of decision, the right choice is of paramount spiritual importance.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and a great number of people from Galilee followed; also from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan, and from about Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia, a great multitude hearing all that he was doing came to see him.

As he would tell them later, "You did not choose me, but I have chosen you, and appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you."

Twelve were chosen by Jesus to form his mystical Body. He needed all twelve to become the equivalent to his One, to carry forward the work he had begun. These would be his Apostles, his Body -- his arms, legs and mouth to send forth in his stead. They were to share and carry further the mission and ministry of Jesus himself.

In Christ all are the same -- all are as One, with no difference. It is only the human personality that develops different ways in twelve basic types. The more you renounce personal tendencies to become One in Christ, the less you will identify with the differences, and will no longer proudly announce yourself as being of this sign or that sign -- for you are now born of Christ, the Sun, which motivates all the signs.

Yet knowledge of the divisions of the Zodiac is useful, and even valuable, both when working with people to help them and to increase understanding of the cosmic symbology. It is said that there were twelve chairs at King Arthur's Round Table, one for each of the twelve signs; other accounts mention twenty-four, or one positive and one negative aspect of each.

These disciples were to become the foundation stones for the spiritual edifice he was building, and upon their soundness would depend the firm establishment of that which would be raised upon them.

Until now he had done little toward organizing his followers. They had spent much time with him, but more as spectators gathering in all they saw. Now they would have to give back out again -- manifold, of what they were receiving. And Jesus would spend the remainder of his ministry giving them intense training and private teaching, in whatever time could be found away from the populace.

These were not illiterate men, if they truly wrote the Epistles accredited to them. Neither were they impoverished, having moderately prosperous businesses at which they sometimes worked, to help in the support of their families, who in turn helped the disciples.

Jesus and his disciples represented the earliest form of the secret inner congregation as established by him in connection with his work. The public preachings carried on by Jesus and his disciples constituted the outer congregational work. What occurred between Jesus and the Twelve in their inner, secret sessions was never known by the public and is not recorded in the Christian Bible or in any of the public books now available, but these teachings have been carried forward in essence and in spirit, and are still available to all who listen long enough to hear the "still small voice" from within.

The disciple is any person who comes to any teacher to learn from him. The root of the word "disciple" comes from the Greek word "learn." He is a learner or student, one who follows a certain teacher or doctrine. The twelve were chosen from among many disciples and were more than disciples. They have been distinguished by the term Apostle, which does not fully describe their function.

The word "apostle" is from a combination of "apo" and "stolos," and this indicates their office. "Apo" means "away from," and "stello" means "to send forth" ("stolos" means "journey"). In other words, the word "apostle" means "one who is sent forth on a journey." Jesus did send them forth almost immediately after choosing them, to give them a feel of their coming work -- two by two. As Jesus was "sent" by his Father, so he also sends out the apostles with his own authority to continue and extend his mission. Each acts as a commissioned messenger or ambassador.

It has been said, "Christ wrote no book to embalm his Thoughts, and yet they are more worthy to live than ten thousand books. And they have lived. How? He did not write on paper. He wrote on the tablets of human hearts. The parchment seems frail and yet after all it is the only durable substance in the world."

The Apostles

The twelve disciples typify the twelve important centers of spiritual power within man's physiological holy of holies. The ascent of the spinal or Christed fire stimulates all twelve centers, represented by the twelve disciples in sacred anatomy. There is a spiritual essence sent forth from both the cerebrum and cerebellum which unites with the spinal fire in illuminating the pineal and pituitary glands.

Our universe is numerically attuned to twelve and one. The solar system is surrounded by the twelve Zodiacal Hierarchies and its central focus is the Archangelic Christ in the Sun.

The Christian Mystery Temple called the New Jerusalem has twelve gates guarded by twelve Angels, (the twelve Hierarchies.) This new city is also known as a Temple of Initiate Consciousness.

In the heavenly Jerusalem, the twelve foundations of the city wall are inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles, while the twelve gates are given the names of the twelve tribes or Patriarchs of Israel. The twelve apostles are its foundation stones and the Lamb of God its focal center. Beside the twelve entrance gates stand the twelve disciples to receive and instruct those proven "qualified and worthy" to be admitted into the glory of the Christian Mysteries.

Twelve is akin to seven in its sacred importance, seven being the sum of three plus four, and twelve the multiplication of three times four; three representing inner spirituality, and four, outer activity. There is a correlation also with alchemical and astronomical lore -- the heavenly governance of stones and metals; and the twelve astrological mansions of the Sun.

In the book of Joshua, with reference to the Promised Land or New Age, twelve men were chosen to set up twelve stones and they "remain to this day." These twelve stones signify latent power within the human body temple which await spiritualization.

Not only Peter but all twelve apostles hold "keys to heaven and hell" -- the ability to confer powers of Initiation in the Christian Mysteries. Each one bears keys fitting his own particular gate. The symbols generally assigned to each of these revered disciples who followed the Master are:

Peter	Keys or Fish
Andrew	Traverse or X-Cross
James	Pilgrim's Staff
John	Eagle, Book, or Cup with Departing Serpent
Philip	Staff with Cross on top
Nathanael-Bartholomew	Large Knife
James the Just (or Less)	Club or Bat
Jude or Thaddeus	Lance or Halberd
Matthew (Levi)	Purse, Book, or Pen, or Winged Man
Thomas	Builder's Rule or Square
Simon Zelotes	Large Saw or Cross
Judas Iscariot	(No conventional symbol)
(Matthias, his later replacement	A Lance)

Matthias was one of the many disciples who was with Jesus from the time of his baptism to his crucifixion (see Acts 1: 21 - 26), but he was not one of the original Twelve Apostles, chosen by Jesus. The number twelve was of such significance that after the departure of Judas, the disciples felt it mandatory to elect another to take his place and retain intact the original number.

In the New Testament, there are four separate lists given of the Twelve Apostles, one in each of the Synoptic Gospels, and one in Acts. These agree fairly well, with certain variations which can be explained. Briefly, the twelve are described in the following paragraphs:

1. Andrew, the first of the apostles to be called by Jesus. He was a fisherman of Bethsaida and Capernaum, with his brother Simon Peter. By nature quiet and unassuming, he was traditionally said to be "great of stature," with round shoulders and heavy brows. Andrew is a Greek name, meaning "manly."
2. Peter, the brother of Andrew. He was originally named Simon Bar-Jonah, or Simon the son of John (or Jonah). Jesus changed his name to Cephas, or Peter, the Hebrew and Greek words for "stone" or "rock." Upon this Stone, Jesus later said, he would build his Church. He was a loyal, but impetuous man of leadership, decisive in action.
3. James, whose name means "supplanter." He was also, as was his brother John, a fisherman neighbor of Peter and Andrew.
4. John: this was the brother of James, both sons of Zebedee. Jesus sometimes called them "sons of thunder," suggesting that they were rather forceful or loud spoken. Yet one usually thinks of John as gentle, being the "beloved disciple" of Jesus, and the youngest of the disciples. He wrote both the fourth Gospel and Revelations. Some wonder at this, since Acts 4:13 calls him and Peter both unlearned, common men. But this was in the eyes of the scholars of Judaism, who did not recognize that one need not hold university degrees to give a forceful report of what he has heard and seen, or to teach the Truth. John lived to a great age, being the only one of the apostles who was not martyred in some way.
5. Philip was a Greek name, meaning "loving" or "lover of horses." He may have been partly Greek, or at least have known the tongue, for later when a Greek delegation came to see Jesus in Jerusalem, they first approached Philip to speak for them. His native town of Bethsaida was near the edge of Galilee, in an area occupied by many Greeks, and under the present rulership of the tetrarch Philip, brother of Herod. An Apocryphal Gospel has been found in Egypt attributed to Philip. It is Gnostic in character.
6. Nathanael, or Bartholomew: it is believed that Nathanael was the given name, and Bartholomew the family name of the same man. Bartholomew (or Bar-Tolmai) means "son of Tolomeus." He is usually coupled with Philip when they are mentioned. The apocryphal legends assert he had curly black hair, a ruddy complexion, large eyes, and a regular nose.
7. Matthew, or Levi: both seem to be the same person, a tax- collector, who may have changed his name after the call, to express the new life. He was a native of Capernaum and is supposed to have been the author of the first Gospel. It is believed that his skill in the keeping of books for his previous trade inclined him to make certain notes of Jesus' ministry, which were later shaped into the Gospel.
8. Thomas: the name means "twin" in Hebrew; and the Greek version of his name, Didymus, also means "twin" or "joined." This symbolizes, in his case, one in whom the twins of faith and unbelief were joined; he was best-remembered for his doubting of Jesus' resurrection and requiring visible proof. But later, having actually touched the wounds, he gained a certain prestige among those he taught in many lands. A Coptic version of a Gospel of Thomas has been found and widely circulated. He may have been a twin brother of Matthew.
9. James the Less. (Actually the Greek word means "small" or "little," rather than "less.") He was probably so called to distinguish him from the taller James, the son of Zebedee. James the Less has also been called the son of Alpheus, which may have been added to the text later, as he was also called the brother of Jesus. In any case, this James became head or bishop of the church of the early Christians in Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus.
10. Thaddeus, sometimes used as a term of endearment, appears interchangeable with Judas, the brother (or son) of James. Little is said of him. Matthew calls him Lebbaeus, also a term of endearment.
11. Simon Zelotes, the Zealot, or the Cananaean, all mean the same thing. "Cananaean" is the Aramaic word applied to those of the Zealot nationalistic Hebrew party.
12. Judas Iscariot: He was the only non-Galilean in the group. The term Iscariot is thought to indicate his place of origin, Kerioth in Southern Judea. Judas was not unworthy when called, but avarice, jealousy, ambition and the loss of faith in the Lord led him to apostasy. Judas' end was the result of distrust. He saw so much, but could not approve or understand what he saw.

When the transformation occurs, when the terrestrial has been transformed into the celestial, Judas has been exchanged for Matthias, (meaning like Matthew, "gift of the Lord).

All of the disciples were afire with great love and enthusiasm for him, but within their own respective personalities they were much the same as other men, and taken together more or less represented all of humanity. That is why there had to be a traitor among them. In a sense these people of the New Testament represent all people who even now come in touch with Christ:

John, the mystic; Peter, the impulsive; Andrew, the missionary; Philip, the inquirer; Thomas, the cautious; Nathanael, the guileless; James, the "Zealot"; Judas, the obscure; Judas, the traitor; John the Baptist, the austere; Nicodemus, the seeker; Pilate, the worldling; Martha, the anxious; Mary, the worshipper; Mary Magdalene, the devoted; Lazarus, the lowly; Caiaphas, the unscrupulous; Joseph of Arimathaea, the brave; Mary of Clopas, the follower; Annas, the intriguer; Barabbas, the robber; Mary the Virgin, the Blessed; the woman of Samaria, the insensible; the nobleman, the believing; the paralytic, the helpless; "a woman," the fallen; the blind man, the forthright; his parents, the cowards; Jesus' aunt Salome, the ambitious; Simon Iscariot, the unfortunate father; Malchus, the victim; Herod, the carnal. Each of these individuals portrays a vivid portrait in a few words, their life and vigor still shining after 2,000 years.

The twelve disciples were divided into three groupings according to their preparation and development in discipleship. These three were as follows:

The Three Pillars of the Masters Degree were: James, Peter and John. These composed the innermost circle of the disciples, so-called "pillars" because sufficiently advanced to receive the deepest esoteric teaching given by the Christ.

The five Followers of the Fellowship Degree were: Andrew,

Thomas, Matthew, Philip and Nathanael.

The Four Apprentices of the Apprentice Degree were: James, Judas, Thaddeus and Simon.

Instructing His Disciples

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts (for the laborer is worthy of his keep), but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.

According to the Gospel of Mark, he permitted staff and sandals, but according to Matthew and Luke he did not allow them. Matthew also adds a directive not given by the others, showing the slant of his appeal to the Jews, as their Savior, the expected Messiah: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "

Jesus went on to say, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without pay, give without pay.

"In whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you." By this he directed that they should not be brought low nor disturbed by the negation of others, but keep above all this, with peace in themselves; this they could share with anyone ready to accept it.

"And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or town shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them. Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

"Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

"Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father the child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

"When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes.

"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub," (as they have called Jesus), "how much more will they malign those of his household?"

"So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

"And are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. But even the hairs of your head are numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Some of these words he had spoken previously to the Pharisees.)

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household.

"He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and who loses his life for my sake will find it."

This does not mean necessarily one who passes through transition, leaving the physical body; it applies to everyone who gives up his old ways, thoughts and emotions for those of the Christ, who loses the man he was and becomes more.

"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him that sent me. He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

"And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." The reward is in accordance with the reason and intention hidden within the act, on one hand, and with the reason for acceptance on the other.

And when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out demons and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

On their return, the apostles came to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

Then he took them and withdrew apart to the town of Bethsaida, where dwelt the families of the fishermen. When the crowds learned of this, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.

Later he told the disciples, "If a man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

"For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."

Not long after this, the Lord appointed seventy others (some say seventy-two), and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

"Go your way: behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be on this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house.

"Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you it shall be more tolerable on judgment day for Sodom than for that town.

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon long ago, they would have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

"You, Capernaum, will you be exalted in heaven? You shall be brought to Hades." In spite of his many great works performed in these towns, the people had in general not changed their hearts and ways. They would have to pay more than those of long ago, because being offered so much more, they were rejecting it still.

Then he added, "He who listens to you listens to me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects Him Who sent me." Thus he reiterated the method of keeping the channel clear, for the increasing numbers who would go forth to serve God.

The seventy went out and returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he commanded them, saying, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Do not become drunk with power, but be thankful that you are permitted to live for the Lord.)

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them unto babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will.

All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it."

The Women Disciples

After Jesus had chosen his disciples and had come down from the mountain he entered into a house, and there gathered round them such a crowd that they had no chance to eat.

People began to say that Jesus was out of his mind. ("He is beside himself.") And indeed the weeks of continual pressure and ceaseless crowds, the driving force and power flowing through him, the zeal with which he contemplated this difficult mission in its growing magnitude, added to his concern for those twelve whom he had now committed to his path -- all this had changed his peaceful demeanor to one of driving fury, so that the Pharisees were saying he was possessed of an unclean spirit.

He warned them of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, for they were accusing him of being under the power of a devil, when actually it was the power of the Holy Spirit that was pouring through him.

When word of the things being spoken about Jesus reached the ears of his family, they came quickly to take charge of him and to take him home with them, away from the crowd. They had not fully grasped, as yet, the import of all that he was doing.

According to Matthew: "While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside asking to speak with him. But to the man who told him of this, he replied, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.' "

With these words, he was not only teaching the people that one must exchange his earthly family for a heavenly one when he dedicates his life to service, but he was also telling his family that he was not the same person who had dwelt with them as son and brother.

When one consciously enters the service of God, he chooses a new life with those who share his goal and leaves the old one behind. He let them know that he could no longer join them, but they must join his family if they would see him again.

He knew his words would be carried back to them, that there was no half way. He got this message across to them in time, for most of them eventually joined in his work.

The Gospel story emphasizes the work of the apostles, the intimates of Jesus and his emissaries in the Father's business. But back of these stood a patient group of women whom we may occasionally glimpse. In Chapter 8 of Luke, "Jesus was traveling in cities and villages, preaching and giving good news of the kingdom of God.

"His twelve were with him, and the women who were healed of diseases and unclean spirits: Mary who is called of Magdala, from whom seven demons went out; and Joanna, the wife of Chuza the steward of Herod; and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them of their wealth." These women probably cooked and sewed and washed the linens of this considerable group who traveled about.

One of the wealthy Pharisees invited Jesus to come and dine with him. And he entered the house of that Pharisee and reclined as a guest. It was the custom to recline on couches about the table of a feast in the wealthier houses. Upon arrival a servant would usually remove the shoes and wash the feet of the guest, to cleanse them of dust from the roads.

Now there was in that city a woman who was a sinner; and when she knew that Jesus was a guest in the Pharisees's house, she took an alabaster cruse of perfumed ointment. The woman is not mentioned by name, but it is believed this was Mary of Magdala, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. The Pharisees knew that she was a "fallen woman," one from whose impurity they would draw away their skirts; so they were appalled at her entering into their respectable house.

She was overcome with the new-found grace which Jesus had brought to her, and to all; and she stood behind his couch at his feet weeping, and she began to wet his feet with her tears and to wipe them with the hair of her head, and she kissed his feet and anointed them with the perfumed ointment.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he reasoned within himself thus, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who she is, and her reputation; for the woman who has touched him is a sinner."

Jesus answered his silent criticism, saying, "Simon, I have something to say to you."

And he answered, "What is it, Teacher?"

Jesus said to him, "There were two men who were debtors to a certain creditor; one of them owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty silver coins. And because they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both. Which one of them will love him more?"

Simon answered him saying, "The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Then turning to the women, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me even water for my feet; but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not kiss me; but she, since she entered, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil; but she has anointed my feet with ointment. So I say to you, her many sins are forgiven because she loved much; but he to whom little is forgiven, loves little."

And he said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven."

Then the guests began to say within themselves, "Who is this man who forgives even sins?" So Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Women walk through the pages of Christ's life with calm frequency. They are often close to him, in his company, playing dramatic roles in his life's story. They are consistently the recipients of his kindness and his gracious favors.

To talk or write as if Christ ignored or avoided or had little dealing with women is simply to leave out or pass over whole sections of the Gospel story, or to misunderstand the Christ.

Not only was he ever-mindful of his chosen apostles, but he appreciated fully the ministrations of the women, who obviously adored him. He could read their minds and hearts as well as those of the men, and they knew the depth of his compassion and understanding.

The women too were his loyal followers, his devoted friends, who saw in him their advocate and courageous protector. His attitude toward women is just one of the beautiful and consoling things in his character. He did not shun or dislike them and his attitude was in contrast to the prevailing one of his time.

The world then was a sad place for women. Pagan slave markets were full of those who were graded on their physical charm or the breadth of their backs for carrying burdens.

The lot of a Jewish woman was much higher, but even she was the servant of the home, who sat in a lower place in the temple, an inferior seat at table, and had the task of waiting hand and foot even on her own sons. And woe unto her who fell victim to man's instincts of pursuit, or to her own desires.

But Jesus defined the difference in importance between the physical and the spiritual life when a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

The physical vehicle is useful as a temporary dwelling place for the spirit. But it is only through obedience to God that all, even mothers of godly persons, must obtain eternal Life for their souls.

The hearts of women were lonely before Christ came. There need be no such loneliness even for the most forgotten of beings if she looks upon Jesus Christ as her saviour and asks for his forgiveness and understanding.

The beautiful tenderness he showed the women of his time, even the most sinful who turned to him, he still holds out to women today. In Jesus Christ do they find the ideal of their highest aspirations, the only one who never fails or disappoints.

Women Initiates of the Christian Mysteries

Among the portraits of the disciples, none is more impressive or important than that of Mary the mother of Jesus. At certain times during his ministry, she accompanied the Master on his journeyings through the Holy Land. By her divinely-awakened powers, she also began following in his footsteps, ministering unto the needy and eager to learn from the Anointed One of God.

The women disciples of Christ, biblically described as the "holy women," became her especial charges, and they revered her great wisdom and gentle humility.

Mary was rather tall and youthfully slender, her bright hair framing a delicate oval face which was illumined by lustrous eyes, through which the powers of her radiant spirit shone like the perpetual lights of some heavenly altar flame. When the three-fold power of grace was bestowed upon her by the rite of baptism, the natural processes of time became stilled within her, so that her physical body no longer knew the forces of age and disintegration.

Mary, in all her life and being, became attuned completely with Spirit. She who had been blessed as the mother of the Holy Child, became now an illumined One through the spiritual initiation of the Christ -- the gift He could return to her.

The name Mary appears prominently in the Gospels; there were several persons with the name mentioned in Jesus' life. Every biblical character name represents some attribute within man, an attribute either to be expanded or overcome, as he makes spiritual progress. "Mary" typifies the feminine or emotional soul, and the characters who bear this name represent various phases of soul growth on the Path to Initiation, or the Christed consciousness.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, typifies soul development in its most exalted stage. She brings intuition, the voice of the soul which, once awakened, enables Self to use the personality to the fullness of its God-given power.

Mary, the wife of Cleophas (supposedly a brother of Joseph) has been called both sister and sister-in-law of the Virgin. This second Mary symbolized the courage and sustaining strength of soul powers which are awakened and functioning.

The homes of the two brothers were close together in Nazareth; the two Marys were intimate friends, their children like members of one household. For this reason many commentators explain Jesus' "brethren," Simon, Jude and James the Less, as being actually cousins. Still others believe that the Virgin, after Jesus birth, had several more children, or that these were Joseph's children by a previous marriage.

The third, Mary of Magdala, came from a small village upon the banks of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum. Young, beautiful and arrogant, vain, selfish and worldly, she typified the emotional nature functioning at its lowest level.

When Mary of Magdala first met the Master, she was steeped in sensual and material living. His presence, the sound of his voice, and Light in his eyes so impressed her that she soon renounced all to follow him. Her supreme dedication, uncompromising allegiance and selfless devotion constitute a highlight among Biblical narratives.

Legend states that when the Lord first saw Mary of Magdala she was gorgeously attired; her hair was redolent of perfume and she sore a necklace of great splendor. To impress her with the worthlessness of outer adornment compared to that of inner virtue, he offered her a pinch of dust in exchange for the stones, adding, "Verily, in this dust is more than in her stones, because from ashes I may create stones, but from stones only dirt."

In those days a woman who had morally slipped even a little was considered unredeemable and consigned to the gutter. Mary Magdalene was far less innocent, but eventually enacted the role of a prodigal daughter. Jesus knew that one who had seen the lowest depths, if he was at last fully repelled by it, was capable of rising to the heights. His casting out of the seven devils connotes a spiritual process whereby her sevenfold nature was purified.

The transformation which occurred in the life and character of Mary, at the awakening of the Christ within herself, presents a most beautiful example of redemption. From among the lowest she became one of the highest. Mary Magdalene was the most advanced of the women Initiates in the Christian Mysteries, except the Virgin. In her exalted communion with the Risen Christ at the mystic hour of sunrise is given a veiled account of the awakening of Christ consciousness within Mary herself.

Another woman prominent among the disciples mentioned in the Gospels was Salome, sometimes called sister of Mary the Virgin. She was married to Zebedee of the fishing fleet, a man blessed with both material and spiritual abundance. Salome and Zebedee, together with their two sons, James and John, were dear to Jesus and among his most devoted followers. Zebedee gave time and money to the cause of the new Christianity, while Salome watched over the physical needs of the disciples.

Sermon On The Mount

Coming down from the top of the mountain with his newly appointed apostles, Jesus proceeded to instruct them. On the plain below, there awaited a large crowd of people who had followed them from the town. It is believed that this mountain was actually a hill about 500 feet high on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and about two miles out from Capernaum.

In order to address them it was necessary to go back up a short distance to find a level plateau from which all could hear his voice. This resolves any imagined discrepancy between what Biblical scholars call the Sermon on the Mount as described by Matthew, and the very similar Sermon on the Plain related in the Gospel of Luke.

The Gospel of Matthew says: "Seeing the crowd, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them." The public choosing of the Twelve would have availed very little had it not been followed by a spiritual vocation with fuller directives and instructions in Jesus' teachings.

The people, too, needed an exposition of the basic principles of his teaching, for the crowds that had occasionally heard him preach until then had somewhat vague and inaccurate notions regarding his stand. The increasing hostility of the scribes and Pharisees also called for the laying down of a definite program, so his position and theirs might be more clearly defined. The people had noticed that he was teaching them "not as the scribes....."

The way of life of these people was free and open enough so that they could walk away from their trades and their homes for a day or longer to follow and gather about a leader or teacher.

Climate was no problem, and religious matters held a respected priority. Great crowds had gathered from every part of the Holy Land to hear his teaching, for many recognized in him a leader of God's people.

The throng was made up of those from all walks of life -- scribes and Pharisees, rich and poor, crippled, blind, and other unfortunates. Many were fishermen who struggled with the fury of the sea for a livelihood, and others were farmers who wrested a living from the soil, who when they had succeeded in winning bare sustenance for themselves, found a great part of it taken in tithes and taxes.

The more educated scholars looked upon these as the rabble, but they, too, were present in numbers, for his words gave food for long discussions of theory and law. After hearing this Sermon, however, these religious and political leaders must have dismissed Jesus from all consideration as their Messiah.

Before the invention of printing, verbal memory was much stronger than it is today. People pondered and discussed the teachings which were heard and told them to their children. Moving about as Jesus did and having a constantly changing audience, he did not deliver long discourses, but taught by brief, pithy utterances on many subjects, frequently repeating certain points.

Matthew wrote his gospel for the instruction of Jewish converts, who would gather in study-circles. The instruction was so arranged as to adapt to that end, and to be orally used by the instructors, first in Palestine, and then in world centers. So he grouped the teachings in a way which would make them easier to remember. The gospel writers had to depend on word of mouth for their records. They put together what was remembered, and it may be that Matthew used parts of more than one discourse here, or that Luke's source of information was more terse. For Matthew devoted three chapters (5, 6 and 7) to this Sermon, while Luke used only the one (chapter 6).

It was said by Maldonatus in the 16th century: "We must not search too insistently for consecutive order in the writings of the evangelists, for they did not intend to set things down in the order in which they were done or said. This is particularly true of his discourses, in which they neither report all that he said, nor quote him in the order in which he spoke, being satisfied to cite the principal elements of his teaching."

St. Matthew and St. Luke present two versions of the Sermon, but they have the same beginning, the same conclusion and develop the subject matter in the same way. St. Matthew covers more of the teachings, but these same lessons are found scattered through Luke. He must have taught the substance of these things many times, but the Gospels have preserved it especially on this day because of the solemnity of the occasion as indicated by the phrase "opening his mouth." He was only now to start revealing the true teachings.

The Sermon on the Mount may be compared to a majestic symphony, whose clear basic themes are resolutely and immediately proclaimed with full orchestra in the very first measures. And they are the most unexpected, the most unheard of themes in all the world. Until then all man's symphonies had proclaimed that blessedness for man meant good fortune, that satisfaction came with satiety, that pleasure was the satisfaction of desire, and honor the product of esteem. But the Sermon announces that man's blessedness can be found through misfortune, satiety in famished hunger, pleasure in unfulfillment, and honor in disesteem -- all ultimately to resolve into the reward that awaits him in the future.

The Sermon is a paradox, a reversal of what had always been thought of as good. It proclaimed one of the greatest revolutions man has ever accomplished, all spoken in a tone of crisp, concise command, justified by the authority of the speaker alone. The new order of things had no human sanctions, only divine ones. They are true because he tells us so.

The Mosaic law is not abolished, but kept as a kind of first floor to which an upper story is added. The chief concern is for the moral and spiritual more than for the physical act itself.

God is not a distant despotic monarch, but a near and loving Father. And all who are Children of the Supernatural Father are brothers of one another, having the same spiritual blood.

Happiness can only be found by participation in the Kingdom of God. He who looks elsewhere looks in vain. The only road whereby we can enter the kingdom is by renunciation of the things of the world, choosing poverty and humility, holding fast to nothing, having no other Will than that of the Father.

The theme of the sermon is the justice of the kingdom, the moral perfection required of members of the kingdom. It is neither a summation of doctrine, nor a moral treatise, but rather a rule of perfection proposed for those who would belong to Christ's kingdom. Hence Jesus contrasts his teaching with Judaism. He compares the Christian spirit with the Old Testament and with the pharisaical ideal of perfection, which was so widely accepted.

The disciples had already taken the first steps, having left all to follow their Master, and now they were learning from him gentleness and goodness. They would be persecuted for righteousness' sake. Jesus spoke no longer as a man, but as the Son of God. His very life is righteousness; to suffer for his sake was to suffer for righteousness' sake and to win back their own souls for God.

The Beatitudes

Today God has many blessings. He has blessings for everyone who asks them, and He brought them to man by bringing His Son into earth to deliver these for Him personally.

The Beatitudes, or Blessings of our Lord, were the first teaching he gave in the Sermon on the Mount (sometimes called the Sermon on the Plain, in reference to Luke). These are found in the fifth chapter of Matthew, who mentioned nine of them, and in the sixth chapter of Luke, where four are given. The Beatitudes have been called the hinge upon which the whole Gospel of Matthew turns.

Luke shows his words as directed to the multitude -- "Blessed are you," which stresses a particular situation and the factor of social change. The woes he discussed were more intelligible to his Gentile readers.

Matthew's account rather emphasizes the situations in which the followers of Jesus of every age find themselves, and from there he launches into a thorough code for Christian discipleship.

The Beatitudes thus became the directives of Jesus Christ, the anointed Savior, for the man of Israel. They came as a triumphant declaration to the poor and sorrowing. But while this teaching gives hope to those who lack the physical necessities of life, even more does it come to those whose sorrow is at a higher level of function -- who grieve for the need to relieve the suffering of the world.

The word "beatitude" means "supreme blessedness," or "felicity," synonymous with happiness. Beatitudes are declarations of a fortunate state, generally beginning with the words "happy" or "blessed." Some were used in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms. These emphasized God's nearness to those who love, trust and wait upon Him.

Now Jesus truly "opened his mouth" to the people, truly he "lifted up his eyes on his disciples," and began seriously to teach. For here God began in earnest to plant upon the earth His spiritual Garden.

1. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew) "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke) "But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation." (Luke) The Greek word used in the Testament is "ptochos," meaning destitute, rather than merely poor ("penes"). It refers to the voluntarily poor -- those who have humbled themselves in spirit and give up totally to God. Of myself I am nothing; the Father in heaven -- He is all. And I have nothing except that which comes from God. The Hebrew word "ani" (poor) refers to that humble, faithful man who has no help on earth, and who in perfect trust has wholly committed himself to God. In the Aramaic Bible, its meaning is given as "humble," "poor in pride," or unassuming. One can be sitting upon a rich throne before the eyes of the world while yet poor in spirit, humbly kneeling within himself before God. Or one may be groveling in false humbleness, while within lurks a haughty pride and smug conceit in personal superiority. God sees the spirit of a man. Sermon on the Mount Jesus did not indiscriminately condemn the rich and praise the poor. He blesses the meek, the poor, and the afflicted only insofar as they have the right perspective. He condemns the lovers of pleasure and wealth only insofar as they seek the material satisfaction of their desires to the loss of eternal beatitude. Here he opened the way of hope for everyone, regardless of material means. Most things which appear to be riches on earth are but glittering baubles when seen from the other side. While much that appears sadly lacking in value conceals the purest spiritual gold at its core. When one finally receives material wealth, he is using up the earned grace of previous times -- but can still use this wealth to do good, and so with it earn more.
2. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew) "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh." (Luke) "Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep." (Luke) There are two sides to every coin, except for the unqualified gift of Grace which is from God. The law of cycles has its effect, at first on earth -- in the alternating experiences of life which enable one to see all sides and to grow in strength and wisdom. Then, when one comes upon the great Way of God on the path of spiritual unfoldment, there usually come interior crucifixions which bring their corresponding spiritual reward. (Don't expect to be crucified in the physical way that Jesus was. That has been done.) Those who laugh now, out of smugness or heedlessness, will find a reaction according to the tone of their laughter. Laughter can be good, too, when directed in a positive vein to help others. Those who weep now are paying off a debt, evening up some old score, and purging themselves for something better to come, if the tears are truly penitent and not just maudlin self-pity or heedlessness of the welfare of others. Paul said, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation." There are things only sorrow can teach, though one could not bear it continually. Grief leaves a vacuum to be filled, and the comforter will come. When Jesus left the earth, he promised the disciples a Comforter in place of their teacher -- "even the spirit of Truth" which would enable them to be taught from within, as he was now doing from without. When one "reaches bottom" in the depths of despair, God can be found if one is looking for Him and not for oblivion through the nearest stop-gap. Man's help is nearest when hope seems darkest.
   1. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
      Meekness implies patience -- one who is gentle of spirit and not easily provoked. He is non-resisting, and therefore all is his. As Jesus also said, "Resist not evil, but make way for good." Therefore, all good flows unto him who places no barriers in the way, for in obedience he accepts the guidance and providence of God in the Promised Land.
   2. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (or justice), for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew)
      "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled." (Luke)
      "Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger." (Luke)
      The word "righteousness" in some translations is given as "to see right prevail," or "to do what is right." It all amounts to the same thing. Those who yearn for that which is good and godly, to see it rightly done, shall have their desire rewarded with the accomplishment of good.
   3. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
      Mercy is called the "outgoing kindness of the Heart of God, the basis of His whole relationship to man." "As you give, so shall you also receive." "Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you also." To obtain mercy you must first earn it by giving it to others.
   4. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
      "Pure," in the sense that it is used here, is from the Greek word, "katharos," which implies "without blemish or alloy," a sort of ritual purity. Unadulterated purity is closest to being One with God.
   5. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (or children of God).
      "Shalom," the Jewish word for "peace" (and latter part of the name, "Jerusalem"), carries the additional meanings of prosperity, security, and happiness -- in other words, the fruits of peace. Only those who are of God make efforts to obtain peace and are rightly called His sons, for those who do His will are the brother, sisters and sons with the Lord Jesus.
   6. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness (or the cause of right), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
      We have observed the unobtrusive meek, and the patient who cause no one any trouble and who quietly accept that which comes their way; but those who suffer persecution to bring about righteousness and justice, and who give up the earth for the sake of God, these gain access to the still higher kingdom of heaven which is at times superimposed over the earth itself. This kingdom is reserved only for those who are willing to go "beyond" the ordinary requirements -- to do more.
   7. "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and utter against you all kinds of evil falsely on my account, rejoice and be glad, for your reward is increased in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew)

   Luke gives a similar statement: "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude or discriminate against you, and cast out your name as evil on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in Heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." And: "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets." (Also Luke)

   It is easy to gain acceptance and popularity by being false to God, but how fickle and fleeting is the pleasure thus gained. Happier is the man on trial for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, who finds himself alone or cast out with hatred because he loves God -- for God will remember His own, and will requite those who persecute in the course of time. The early Christians sang hymns of joy for the opportunity of bearing afflictions in His Name, knowing the greater reward awaiting them.

   Luke proclaims the Will of God as the central functional activity around which the Beatitudes revolve. The last four of them refer directly to heaven, the consummation of Christ's kingdom, and the reward for members of the kingdom.

   The last Beatitude sums up the others, and Jesus applies it in a special way to his apostles because of the fate that awaits them. The Beatitudes show the ways of entering the kingdom and remaining in it. Jesus taught the kingdom in its earthly phase and in its heavenly. In the Sermon on the Mount are delineated in sure swift strokes the outlines of Christ's kingdom, and as he proceeds in his Sermon, he fills in the details of the picture.

   Anyone who is truly seeking to receive the Light need not go without; for if he should but apply himself diligently to the study of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, such as he gave in the Sermon on the Mount, these will lead him to greater awakening of the Christ spirit within himself. Then will he proceed into more direct attunement with God, even as Jesus did, and will indeed receive the "wisdom that passeth understanding."

   Judge Not

   The Old Testament, or more literally the Old Covenant, acts as a platform for the New, in that many of the things spoken by Jesus require some knowledge of Hebrew beliefs and customs in order to understand his references.

   Salt

   Salt is one example. We know it as a seasoning for food as did Job, who asked, "Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt?" We are also familiar with its purifying and preservative qualities. But perhaps we did not know that God commanded Aaron, the first Hebrew high priest: "With all your offerings, you shall offer salt."

   And in Numbers 18:19, he said to Aaron, "All the holy offerings which the people of Israel set aside for the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due; this is a perpetual covenant of SALT before the Lord for you and your descendants."

   The Lord said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any holding among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel." This last sentence is an interesting statement in regard to the vow of poverty for every priest.

   It appears that salt has significance in the sense of making a matter binding upon one. Even today the Arabs will not take salt with one whom they hold to be an enemy, for it is considered a seal of friendship, of sincerity, and of good will when offered to a guest. And they will say, how can I lift my hand against one with whom I have taken salt? In alchemy, salt is a symbol of order and truth, or crystallized form, and of the element Earth.

   Newborn Hebrew babies were rubbed with salt, perhaps for its purifying and astringent or toughening qualities.

   "Ye are the salt of the earth," Jesus said. "But if salt has lost its savor, how shall its saltness be restored? It is fit neither for the land nor the dunghill, and is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trodden under foot by men. Every one will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Salt is good, but if it has lost its saltness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

   In order to be useful in his work, they must retain the essence of their function as men of God, even as a bird must retain its instincts to fly if it would function as a carrier pigeon. Otherwise it might be cast into the barnyard. If a leader has lost his authority, where shall he get it again?

   Animal sacrifices will be sprinkled with material salt, but man must be seasoned with the fire of spirit, if he would be acceptable to God. In order to give this unto others, the disciple of Christ must first have and hold fast to this spiritual fire within himself. Otherwise he could give it to no one and should he lose it, his function of giving it to others would be gone.

   The fire wherewith man is salted is designed to preserve him in a state of spiritual incorruption. This same fire of spirit shines forth from the disciples for all to see. Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid."

   Light

   "Men do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

   And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." The very nature of light is to radiate, and to give light out, not to close it in. It must be used and distributed.

   "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! But if your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright as when a lamp with its rays gives you light."

   If you see things in a spiritual light, as good, you will gain light within. But if your eye reports only darkness, this keeps the light from coming in.

   "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not a yod, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

   "Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

   Jesus maintained the sanctity of the law and the prophets; he was not come to destroy, but to fulfill; he was no revolutionist but a divine reformer; the Law which he had proclaimed was to fulfill that which had begun and make perfect that which was imperfect. He could not deny that which led to his presence here any more than an apple can deny its tree.

   Jesus was the fruition and fulfillment of the purpose of the tree. No part of its function may be left out, and the Law must be followed to the last "jot and tittle" to bring this about; only then could it be pronounced finished, and a New Law brought forth.

   The new way demanded more of a man than the old, but in a different way. Whereas they were before bound in all their physical actions, as laid down by the scribes and Pharisees, now they must start going beyond outer observances which are visible to man and even watch their thoughts and desires. For God judges the inmost heart, and thoughts are as powerful as actions. Jesus said, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

   "You have heard that it was said of the men of old, 'You shall not kill; but whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is even angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire.

   "So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

   The sooner you can make peace and straighten things out in any situation, the better it will go for all concerned. For Jesus said, "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make friends quickly while you are yet on the way. Make an effort to settle with him before you reach the court, lest your accuser drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to an officer of the guard, and he put you in prison. Truly I say to you, then you will never get out till you have paid the very last penny."

   This can be easily understood even in small annoyances. Give them no root in your mind or heart, lest they grow to major proportions.

   You can test this by tracing back some block or controversy with another person to a very small beginning which could have been obliterated then without any major operation. These directives of Jesus are for our benefit. Every one is a loving guideline to a fuller and happier life.

   "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

   This does not mean that you need feel guilty about an attraction toward someone. Glorify God that the Life Force which comes from Him is able to flow through you; and direct the energy toward upliftment and good.

   Do not degrade it by giving your body domination over the rest of you, even in your mind. The man must drive the horse; the horse must not drive the man. The Life Force involves the continuance of God's creation, not only on the bodily level, but the spiritual as well.

   Jesus went on to say, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

   "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

   "Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply, 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil."

   He was not referring here to taking a vow. A vow is a linking together, and "to vow" means to solemnly promise something, usually before God. But "to swear" generally denotes an oath, a declaration or affirmation of the truth of a matter while invoking the name of God or a deity as warranty. You have not that right over God, or over any other thing. Moreover, man had too often in former times both foolishly and cruelly sworn away lives and properties, gambling on his own word.

   Later on, when Jesus stood before the high priest Caiaphas in Jerusalem, the priest would urge Jesus to swear, to attest to the statement of the witnesses. Caiaphas said to him, "I adjure you, by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus answered him then, "You have said so." In saying "you" and not "I," Jesus did not submit to the oath but left it with the high priest.

   "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get." In judging another, you are judging yourself.

   You cannot know all the reasons at the other end of any situation, and by condemning them, however bad the appearance, you attach yourself to the results, so if you really want to find freedom, be free from judgment -- for that is where freedom really starts!

   "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?

   "Thou hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Physician heal thyself before you step out to heal others, and learn before you teach.)

   "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

   Old Law And New

   Jesus continued to demonstrate to the multitude the contrast between the Old Law and the New. They must have been astonished at this approach, for he told them further: "You have heard it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, 'Do not resist one who is evil.'

   "But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you."

   In the Old Law, man "paid back" his brother, "getting even" without delay when an injury was received. If the man was just and his intentions good, he may have helped the other pay off a Karmic debt quickly in this way, but he took another on himself, for every action begets reaction. There are exceptions when one is responsible for the teaching and discipline of students or children.

   In order to be free of unending involvement with pain, man must let God take care of the justice in most situations, except where it is possible to help a man see his own error. Again if someone is dangerous to the well-being of others, he must be restrained accordingly -- but not with selfish motives, never with rancor nor revenge. Man must begin to rely on God and on His higher Law, above that given by Moses.

   Those who profess to serve God must have goodness in themselves beyond the goodness of men. In the Old Way, a man implied, "I'll come halfway, providing you come the other half."

   In Jesus' teachings, there is no half-way measure permissible. The other fellow's actions give you no excuses. You simply come all the way anyway, and thus there is no altercation laid at your door, for all is between you and God.

   Jesus continued drawing comparisons -- "You have heard that it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you that hear, 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.'

   "To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your coat as well. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."

   This saying, "As ye would that men do unto you, do ye also to them likewise" has become famous as the Golden Rule, a clear and simple statement of brotherly love which, if followed, is sufficient to make a heaven on earth.

   "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say, 'If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Or what reward have you? For even sinners and tax collectors love those who love them.'

   "And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

   "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind even to the ungrateful and the selfish.

   "Do these things so that you may be sons of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, and be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

   It is not enough to give up our old lives, our goods, and our time. God can accept us fully as His sons only if we become like unto Him. Seek to know what He is like and emulate Him. He makes more than ample allowance for our comparative smallness; and for a living example to show us how, He sent Jesus in the same form that we bear.

   Jesus said to the people then, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

   Through giving of any kind, grace is accrued, and he who has developed within himself a store of spiritual riches, has also the living nucleus for all that could ever be required.

   But he whose heart and soul are barren, though judged wealthy by standards of the world, must face the decay of all he has. For it has no more life than he.

   "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

   While giving of love and goods is unlimited, there is one area where caution was advised, for he said, "Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you."

   This is a very simple way of saying a great deal. You have found pearls of Truth and are eager to share their precious beauty with all you meet. But some are not ready to appreciate them, and no matter how we expound, they have not yet gained within themselves anything to which they can relate this; for a person can only grasp what his own experience responds to.

   Of what use is a pearl to a swine? He would merely paw at this bauble, or bite it. Show them the book of your most precious revelations and they would drag it through the mud, for how could they know? Neither do sacramental things mean anything to a dog; you have to deal with every creature in the things that he can understand, in order to help him at all, not to mention protecting that which is precious from degradation.

   One must use the same precautions with people and judge accordingly. In some cases where you tell them too much, they may use this as a basis of attack, thinking you are the one amiss. Give them what they need now, only as much as they can digest; and let them know there is more where that came from, with even better to come. If they refuse you utterly, leave them with their beliefs and devote your time to those who are hungry for the Christ, who know the value of a pearl and can intelligently accept it.

   Neither must you be taken in by high-sounding phrases or the beguiling exterior of those who seek to teach you. For he said, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

   "Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

   "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Thus you will know them by their fruits.

   Again he warned the untaught against teaching each other. Let them wait until the teacher has taught them fully and approved them as able to carry forth the truth of his word, then let them teach. He told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher."

   Jesus said a man must choose which way he will take, the one or the other. He can get nowhere straddling a fence, and he cannot do justice to more than one purpose. "No one can serve two masters," he said, "for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

   "You cannot serve God and mannon. Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

   "Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

   "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

   "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing?

   Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

   Therefore do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat? or 'What shall we wear?' For the unbelievers are content to seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

   "Be not anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.

   "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

   "You then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the Law and the prophets.

   "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

   Prayer

   The Greek used in the Lord's Prayer, according to Matthew, Chapter 6, when translated literally word by word, comes out thus:

   "Our Father, Who (in) the heavens, Sanctified by Thy Name; Let come Thy Kingdom; let be done Thy Will as in heaven (so) also upon the earth; our bread the needed give us today; and forgive us our debts, as also we forgive our debtors; and lead not us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory to the ages. Amen."

   "Give us the necessary subsistence for today" would be a more logical translation of the term "give us this day our daily bread." "Prevent us ...." or "do not let us enter into temptation," but "part us from evil things," is the Aramaic interpretation.

   The Lord's Prayer with its sublime simplicity is admired even by those who seldom use it, for it has a fervor which breathes the glory of God and the blessing of man. It is a classic form to follow in praying, for all the elements of prayer are present, beginning with the gathering in of others into your prayer, then praise of God and the acceptance of His Kingdom.

   God's will is being accepted both in heaven and in earth, followed by a request that daily physical needs be taken care of. Forgiveness was asked as the reward for forgiving and deliverance from temptation and things of evil nature. Again offering all up to God.

   Matthew's version of the Lord's Prayer has been used in liturgy from the first century. The doxology at the end -- "for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory," seems to have been interposed later; at least it was omitted from some of the earliest manuscripts.

   Prayer comes from a word in the Hebrew which signifies appeal, interpolation, or intercession, whereby man refers his cause, and that of others, unto God as judge, calling upon Him, or appealing to Him for what is right; offering up in prayer his desires to God for things both lawful and needful, having a sincere confidence of obtaining them through the mediation of Christ and the perfect outworking of the Law of Prayer.

   To pray is to elevate heart and mind to God. Prayer can be mental, vocal, ejaculatory; either public or private. The parts of Prayer in orthodox terminology are said to be invocation, adoration, confession, petition, pleading, dedication, thanksgiving, and blessing.

   Prayer is mentioned in the Bible in all its many phases, from direct conversation in primordial times, to expostulation and pleading, sometimes complaining. Ritual magic was a form of prayer; then there were praise, thanksgiving, blessing, requests or excuses, the spiritual communion, and intercession for others.

   Prayer is an attempted intercourse with God, with or without mediation of a priest or heavenly beings. It is usually spoken, either vocally or mentally, but may also be silent communication. Some of the Psalms are a type of prayer.

   By their request, Jesus gave the disciples a general form to be used in prayer. This is especially good when used for groups. For, as he told them later, "where two or three are gathered in My Name there am I in your midst."

   Jesus warned against false piety for the sake of impressing others. If you are praying for man's opinion, your only reward from prayer will be man's respect for your religiosity. But if you want God to take notice, you must pray to Him inwardly, where He is.

   Jesus condemned ostentation and vain repetition. The Pharisees were wont to display themselves, wearing their phylacteries in long public prayer. To pray standing was customary, but to court an audience suggests insincerity. And to repeat the same phrases long and tiresomely without meaning them only wearies God. A prayer must be felt wholeheartedly and believed in, to be heard, for your intent speaks louder than the actual words.

   So he said, "Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

   "Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

   "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go to your room and shut the door and pray to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you."

   The word "closet" used in the King James version, "and when thou prayest, enter into thy closet," is not to be taken literally. The correct translation is "room" or "chamber." The houses of the poorer folk in Palestine consisted of only one single room -- there were no closets. Therefore, Jesus only meant to go to one's own home or private room, away from public bid for notice, in order to pray to God in secret.

   "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this (the usual translation from Matthew 6)

   
   Our Father, Who art in heaven,
   Hallowed by Thy name.
   Thy kingdom come,
   Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
   Give us this day our daily bread;
   And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven
   our debtors;
   And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . .

   "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." This is the clause in fine print man tends to overlook -- the condition of forgiveness in his prayer.

   To "hallow" is to hold sacred, or in reverence. "Thy kingdom come," refers to God's kingdom overlaying the earth. "Thy will be done" -- that means God's Will, not man's will.

   He also told this parable in the hearing of some who trusted in their own righteousness and despised others: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank thee that I am not like unto other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.'

   "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

   "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you."

   He also taught the basic prayer on other occasions. At another time, the disciples found him praying, and when he had ceased they asked him to teach them to pray, as John had taught his disciples. So he said to them, when you pray, say:

   'Father, Thy Name be hallowed; Thy kingdom come.

   Give us each day our daily bread (or necessary subsistence);

   And forgive us our sins,

   For we too forgive all those who have done us wrong.

   And do not bring us to the test."

   (This is the New English translation of the Prayer as given in Luke, Chapter 11.)

   Explaining the effectiveness of prayer, he went on to say, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'My friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because of friendship, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

   "And I tell you, ask and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

   "For if you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

   And at a later date he told them they must pray with faith, saying to them, "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also Who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

   And then he told them a similar parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to grow faint or lose heart. "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Vindicate me against my adversary.'

   "For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.' "

   And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said. And will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

   He did not often use prayer in connection with his healings, except in blessing or thanksgiving. It was not necessary, since his will was so given over to that of the Father that his own life was a continual prayer. He did seek solitude at crucial times to pray.

   Once he told Peter, "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

   Perhaps you would like to hear the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic, as near as we can now reconstruct the way Jesus actually spoke it. This was taken from the liturgy of an Assyrian Church which uses the Aramaic text:

   Abon dbashmaya	Our Father in heaven,
   nith qadash shmahk;	Hallowed be Thy Name.
   tete malkuthakh;	Thy Kingdom come.
   nehbe suya -nakh;	Thy Will be done
   aykana dbashmaya ap barah;	As in heaven so on earth.
   holan lakhma dson	Give us the bread of our
   qanan yomana	Need this day.
   Washboqlan Khobain	And forgive us our offenses,
   Aykana dapkhnan	As we have also forgiven
   shbaqan Ikhayabane	Those who have offended us;
   ola talan Inisyuna	And bring us not to trial but
   ela passan min bisha;	Deliver us from the evil one;
   mittul ddilakhe malkotha	For thine is the kingdom,
   okhaila otishbukhta	And the Power, and the glory
   lalam almen.	For ever and ever.
   Amen. (pronounced ameen)	Amen.

   Jesus ended his Sermon on the Mount with another parable, comparing the man who bases his life on those things which are above with him who is shallow, having no anchor in God. St. Matthew relates, in Jesus' words:

   "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evil-doers.'

   "Every one then who hears these words of mind and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

   St. Luke ends his sermon with these words: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."

   And when Jesus finished these saying, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, who knew the Truth, and not as their scribes, who repeated and interpreted the words of others.

   Signs And Miracles

   Sometimes we say it would be easier if only we had proof, in a physically-manifested sort of way, of the presence of the Master in our lives. Yet in many ways it is easier to believe in the spiritual perfection of one who is not manifest; then we do not have to approve of the way he combs his hair or takes his coffee.

   To see Jesus appear in full form before you would be a glorious thing, and a proof of his spiritual power. But did the countrymen of his time, even those who saw his performances of miracles, believe that he was the Son of God and their promised Savior, or did they question why he healed a man on the Sabbath day, and wonder at his eating with persons not acceptable according to their religion?

   Total perfection in anything at the physical level seems impossible. So it is easier to accept the ideal when there is nothing before our eyes to block the vision. One must take care not to be blinded in his own mission by the appearance of things, nor base his faith on misleading evidence.

   These people were looking at Jesus, the outer man, expecting him "to show them," and to let him do all the proving -- while the real secret was that they were the ones being tried, and it was up to them to prove where they were. He already was. You have not only to accept him, but to begin to measure up yourself, no matter what appears. Regardless of the nature of your job, when that is being done to the best of your ability, then he will start looking at the real you, (and hopefully not at your mannerisms).

   To compare his miracles as a child and the divine spiritual activity in word and deed in his youth and adult years, one may think of the tree from spring to autumn.

   In spring the tree blooms wonderfully and a great activity prevails within it. After blossoms fall off, the tree seems to rest inactive, but toward autumn, it again appears to be fully active; the wonderful fruits are being seasoned, colored, even more beautifully than its former bloom, and matured.

   The good they contain loosens their fetters and as such fall into the laps of hungry children. Only through using the eyes of the Spirit can man understand this. The questionable points can be explained as soon as one becomes pure from within the heart. Then will one readily understand that complete amalgamation of the fullness of Deity with the man Jesus was not perfected in one action, but was achieved progressively, similar to the gradual awakening of the divine spirit within the human heart.

   Since everything develops that way under the guidance of God, this amalgamation was completed only on the cross. Although the Deity in all its fullness already dwelt in the child Jesus, it became manifested in miraculous activity only at the time of need.

   Signs are distinct from miracles in that they are like signposts along a highway -- being designed to arrest attention and point towards deeds which symbolize spiritual truths, or lead the way to spiritual understanding. Most persons approaching the spiritual life experience some sort of private sign which interests them in the Path. Signs show what is ahead of you and point out the direction in which to go. But once their objective is accomplished, once you are there, what further need is there for signs? They cease, for you have arrived at the place which was sought.

   Miracles, on the other hand, are spoken of as "mighty works," in which there is a putting-forth of Divine Power; or as "wonders," which indicate a wonderful act. Miracles are sometimes explained away by the skeptical as "natural cures," "the effects of mob psychology," or "natural events whose causes are as yet unknown to us." But they are actually events which appear neither as part nor result of any known natural law or agency and are, therefore, attributed to a supernatural or divine Source. Jesus did not break any of the Laws of Nature in the performance of miracles, but he knew the Laws as they really are, from the inner level, so it was easy for him to use them, relying on the Power of Spirit to do the work.

   Not all of Jesus' miracles are recorded in the Bible, but all of them were performed for the benefit of others, not himself. He sometimes pointed them out as proof of his divine mission as the Messiah, but he would never perform a sign at someone's challenge; he would only refer such persons to the coming resurrection of his body as future proof. Certain of his miracles were performed with elaborate symbolism in order to teach some lesson.

   ---

   Soon after his great sermon, Jesus went to a nearby town called Nain (which means "pleasantness," as all the Hebrew names have a meaning). His disciples and a great crowd went with him. And as he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her.

   And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."

   And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Jesus had performed miracles before this time, but he was now about to demonstrate wonders such as had never before been seen.

   He had sent the twelve out on another mission of healing and preaching, and on their return the apostles told him what they had done. Then he took them and withdrew apart to the town called Bethsaida, where dwelt the families of the fishermen. When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.

   After this Jesus withdrew to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias, to a lonely place. But when the people heard of it, they followed him on foot from the towns because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. So when he went ashore, he saw a great throng; and having compassion on them, he healed their sick. Then Jesus went up into the hills, and there sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand, which meant that many of these were en route to Jerusalem.

   Now the day began to wear away; and when it was evening the twelve came and said to him, "Send the crowd away to go into the villages and country round about to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place."

   "But he said to them, "They need not go away. You give them something to eat." Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that the multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

   Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get even a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?"

   Jesus said, "Bring them here to me." Then to his disciples, "Make the people sit down in companies, about fifty each." And they did so. Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then taking the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and when he had given thanks, blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples, to set before the crowd, as much as they wanted. And all ate and were satisfied.

   When they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered up and filled the twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.

   When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!"

   Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by himself to pray, first dismissing the crowds and directing his disciples to go before him to the other side. So his disciples went down to the sea, got into their boat and started across the sea to Capernaum.

   It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. When they were many furlongs distant from land, the sea rose and the boat was beaten by waves, for a strong wind was blowing against them. When they had rowed about three or four miles, in the fourth watch of the night they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened and cried out for fear, saying, "It is a ghost!"

   But he said to them, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

   And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water."

   He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."

   Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?"

   And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. And those in the boat worshipped him saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

   And when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret until the storm subsided. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.

   On the next day the people who remained on the other side of the Sea saw that there had been only one boat there and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. However, boats from Tiberias now came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

   When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?"

   Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent."

   So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "

   Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

   They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

   Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him Who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

   The Jews then murmured at him because he said, "I am the bread of life which came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven.'

   Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

   "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

   The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

   So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

   "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever." This he said in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum.

   Many of his disciples, when they heard it said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe."

   For Jesus knew from the first who it was that should betray him. And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

   After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.

   Jesus said to the twelve, "Will you also go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."

   Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.

   It happened at another time in those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come a long way."

   And his disciples answered him, "Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?"

   And he asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven."

   And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them. And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And those who ate were about four thousand men, besides women and children. And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha, or Magadan.

   The Pharisees and Sadducees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and getting into the boat again he departed with the disciples.

   Now when they reached the other side, it was found they had forgotten to bring bread with them in the boat. And he cautioned them saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." And they discussed it with one another, saying, "We have no bread."

   But Jesus being aware of this said to them, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve."

   "And the seven for the four thousand? How many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven."

   And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand? How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching or doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

   Syrophoenicia

   The legalist Pharisees were now watching every opportunity to trap Jesus in some misdemeanor, to give them grounds to have him stopped. The Jews correlated the stain of physical dirt with the stain of moral sin, and the result of this was a complicated set of laws as to the purification of a person, his utensils, clothing and habitation. Twelve treatises of several chapters each were devoted to this one subject in the Talmud.

   Such rules were not merely hygienic in purpose, but were intended as holy precepts, part of religious ritual. It was said, "He who eats bread without washing his hands is as one who frequents a harlot . . ." and "He who neglects to wash his hands shall be uprooted from the world."

   So when the Pharisees gathered together unto him, with certain of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders.

   When they come from the market place, they must purify themselves; and there are many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?"

   And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' For you leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."

   "And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your (human) tradition? For God commanded Moses, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.' If a man tells his father or his mother, 'What you would have gained from me is Corban,' (that is, given to God) - then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God for the sake of your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do."

   The term "corban" refers to a pledge made to the Temple. If one has promised something as a religious offering, though he may continue to use this until ready to turn it over, it can never be given to anyone else, since this is a sacred promise. It was possible in this crafty way to avoid certain lawful obligations towards others by promising all he had to the Temple, while continuing to have use of it during his own lifetime.

   And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand; not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

   Then when he entered the house and left the people, the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

   He answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

   Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

   And he said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on?" Thus he declared all foods henceforth to be clean, or acceptable, and in so doing he made obsolete for his disciples many volumes of traditional rules.

   He did not encourage uncleanliness, but discouraged making this a matter of fetish.

   For in this saying he had directly reversed all the previous teaching that placed so much emphasis on ritual purity in eating. And he said to them, "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, theft, adultery, fornication, false witness, slander. All these evil things from within are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

   The time was speeding by, and Jesus needed a little quiet space both to be with his disciples and to refresh his own fount of energy, having been drawn upon by the throngs day and night. So from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia, on the shores of the Mediterranean. This was pagan country, which should permit some peace and solitude by the sea, where he was less known.

   He entered a house there and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. For immediately there came a woman who had heard of him whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit; and she fell down at his feet, begging him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, not of Jewish faith.

   Jesus said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." (Unbelievers were sometimes referred to as "dog of an infidel" in Eastern terminology.)

   But she answered him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

   And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

   Jesus had said before that he was sent only to the Jews at that time, later to spread unto the whole world. He was not willing to break this pattern. But he appreciated both her faith and the quickness of mind that enabled her to answer him with wisdom.

   John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us."

   But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his reward."

   On one occasion when the Jews were outraged that he healed a man on the Sabbath, Jesus told them, "My Father is still working, and I work." And they were the angrier that he made himself equal with God and began to plan ways to get rid of him.

   Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

   "The Father loves the Son and shows him all that He Himself is doing; and greater works than these will He show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

   "The Father judges no man, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent him.

   "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes on Him Who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come unto judgment, but has passed from death to life.

   "Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son also to have life in himself and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man.

   "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice. And they shall come forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of Him Who sent me.

   "If I bear witness of myself, my testimony is not true; but there is another who bears witness to me, and I know that the testimony which he bears to me is true. You have sent messengers to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that I require the testimony of man; but I say these things that you may be saved.

   "He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have greater testimony than John; for the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me.

   "And the Father Himself Who has sent me has borne witness of me, although you have never heard His voice, and you have never seen His form. But you do not have His Word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these very Scriptures that testify of me; yet you will not come to me that you may have life.

   "I do not seek glory from men. But I know that you have not the love of God within you, for I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, you receive him.

   "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes only from God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; it is Moses who accuses you, he on whom you set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for it was of me he wrote. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?"

   The Transfiguration

   And Jesus went on with his disciples eastward to the village of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way it happened that as he was praying alone the disciples came to him, and he asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?"

   And they answered, "John the Baptist; but others say Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen."

   And he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

   And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father Who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what- ever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The name "Peter," or "Cephas," means "rock." Simon Barjona means "Simon, son of John, (or Jonah)."

   Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. It was clear that he wanted his church founded only on the solid foundation of Truth as God revealed it to Man, and not on what the imperfect "flesh and blood" could provide.

   From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes. For he said to them, "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day."

   They were greatly distressed, and Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." This was a reversal of his previous statement to Peter. It was not the human being who was either a rock or a devil, but his stand and his sense of values concerning what was real.

   Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever seeks to save his own life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will find it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

   "For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed. For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.

   "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they have seen the kingdom of God already come with power."

   Now about a week after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves to pray. And as he was praying, he was transfigured before them. The appearance of his countenance was altered, and his face shone like the sun; and his garments became dazzling white as light -- glistening intensely as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

   And behold, there appeared to them in glory, Moses and Elijah and they were talking with Jesus; and they spoke of his departure that he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

   The Transfiguration

   And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.

   He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud came and over- shadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, "This is my beloved Son, My Chosen, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

   When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." And when they lifted their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

   And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."

   And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" He replied, "Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

   Reincarnation

   Reread the preceding paragraph and note Jesus words: "Elijah has already come, and they did not know him." They did not marvel or ask how that could be. They "understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist." Reincarnation was to them a "fact of life," well-understood, and requiring no discussion or explanation.

   The doctrine of reincarnation is typical of the great changes made in the Christian teachings since they were first given: Jesus accepted this as the established law of the spiritual world, and all of the other religions existing in his day likewise accepted the doctrine of reincarnation in some form. What became of it then, between the time of his teaching and the establishment of the present-day theology? And why was it relegated to the status of a "mystery," hidden from the ears of the people, that only the hierarchy might enjoy such knowledge of divine justice?

   One writer who diligently traced through the doctrines of the various churches in an effort to learn in what period this elimination and change in doctrine occurred, has found that it was early in the third or fourth century after the birth of Jesus that church leaders began to eliminate this acceptance of reincarnation, along with several other doctrines they preferred not to pass along.

   To warn against the results of an ungodly life was part of Jesus' work, as it is ours. But he taught the "do's" along with the "don'ts," and the results of action, which occur in a realistic way. A person believing that he is here on earth for one time only might seem justified in taking all he could get in goods and experiences, as a sort of last-chance try. But if he knew that he was coming back here to earth where he will be placed in the position of the other person, on the other side of the actions he is now performing, in one lifetime or another -- will he not seek a better way?

   Jesus Christ attempted to point people toward a state of fulfillment. He taught that there is no death, that the kingdom of heaven is within, here and now, and that man creates his own world as he goes along. However, certain fallacious implications were added to the Christian teachings for hundreds of years after Jesus left this earth.

   He and his disciples knew the doctrine of reincarnation as taught by both ancient and modern mystics to be a religious law and a logical law of nature, one that absolutely removes all fear of death. It does not claim death as cessation of life, nor as a sudden and arbitrary decision of a God Who is otherwise merciful, just, loving and beneficent. It does not declare eternal damnation, but a chance to pay the debt and be released from damnation.

   For in the beginning, God decreed that progress should be established by our own course in life, and by our own need for certain experiences and opportunities to accomplish and learn. Transition from the earth thus is not pictured as annihilation or an eternal ending of our careers, but merely as a temporary change from one stage or state of activity to another -- just like going to sleep at night, tired of body and mind, then awakening after a few hours refreshed and better prepared to go on with our mission in life. Though literally, the period on earth is the sleep, from which we awake on the other planes.

   There is no place of absolute oblivion or silent darkness into which man must enter and lose all identity, or all consciousness. After each transition there is a variable period -- sometimes less than one lifetime on earth, during which man has spiritual and soul consciousness to enjoy the illuminating experiences of Cosmic life, being in contact with certain of the great masters and with those he loves, as well as with every form of constructive work being carried out by the wonderful spiritual laws of the universe. This period is like a great school to prepare us for the coming work we are to do.

   They are without understanding who disregard the fact that there are teachers who exist and come into this earth -- even into dense form occasionally -- who have lived before and have seen many of the things that happened during the time of our Master when he lived here. There are many who know there is life after transition -- they do not just believe it -- but the man of logic does neither. So he depends on logic to carry out his ideas.

   You have to teach people, not what they should do now, but what they should be doing a year from now, when they're on the "other side of the fence."

   Coming From The Mountain

   "Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Thy Name." This quotation from Psalm 89:12 was considered by many as a prophecy concerning the location of Jesus' transfiguration, as described in the previous chapter. The Bible gives no direct clue as to the identity of this mountain. Mount Hermon is located at some distance to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee, and Mount Tabor is not far from its southwestern shore.

   On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain after their profound experience, they came to the other disciples who had remained below and saw a great crowd gathered about them while some scribes stood nearby arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw Jesus, were greatly amazed and ran up to greet him. And he asked the Disciples, "What are you discussing with them?"

   And one of the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son, for he is my only child, and he is an epileptic, suffering terribly. For behold, he has a dumb spirit; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they were not able.

   And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

   And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us."

   And Jesus rebuked the man for saying "if": "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" He believed that Jesus could do this, but prayed that his faith might be made greater.

   When Jesus saw that a crowd was running toward them, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead."

   But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God. When he entered the house, his disciples came to him privately and asked, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. However, this kind of entity rarely comes out except by prayer and fasting."

   And while they were marveling at everything he did, he said to his disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men." But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

   Going on from there, they avoided the towns, for Jesus needed some time to teach the disciples privately, preparing them for what was to come. He knew that soon they must depart for Jerusalem, and to endure many things, and they must be strengthened and established in the Truth.

   The Children

   And the people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them, perhaps out of concern for him for he was so beset by demands. But when Jesus saw this he was indignant, and he said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

   One day they were walking to Capernaum, and when they had entered the house, he asked them, "What were you discussing among yourselves on the way?" But they were embarrassed and remained silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. But Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts and said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all."

   And he took a child and put him in the midst of them and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives not me, but Him Who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great."

   At another time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

   "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

   "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

   "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father Who is in heaven.

   "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he find it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

   One day before they went up to Jerusalem, the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons James and John, and kneeling before Jesus, she asked him to grant the wish of her sons.

   Jesus said to her, "What do you want?" And she said, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."

   But Jesus said to the sons, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We are able."

   Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

   And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at James and John. But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great rulers exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever should be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

   The Chronology Of Jesus' Life

   For the sake of those who are interested, we will mention briefly the outstanding dates of Jesus' life as nearly as they can be known, feeling sure you will be glad to let go of them again. As has been mentioned before, there is no absolute certainty about the placement of certain events, concerning the order of time in which they occurred; and on the only occasion the Christian church seriously investigated these dates, a Scythian monk called Dionysius the Little made an error of several years in recording the date of Jesus' birth, according to the Roman calendar.

   It seems that efforts to determine such literal facts are mocked, and that man is meant to look only to his teachings along with the grand pattern of his life, using the heavenly reckoning and not man's flimsy and arbitrary calendars. Such a being as the Lord Jesus Christ is beyond time.

   The birth of Jesus has been calculated by scholars in their widest reckoning at anywhere between 12 B.C., ("before Christ") to 1 A.D., ("Anno Domini," or "year of our Lord"). The favored dates are between 5 and 7 B.C., due to the occurrence of the death of Herod, which is historically recorded as having taken place in the spring of 4 B.C.

   John the Baptist began to preach and baptize somewhere between 26 and 29 A.D. (in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, which seems clean enough, but still has some possible margin of latitude). He supposedly began to reign in the Roman year 767.

   We are dealing here with at least three different calendars -- the Roman, the now-Christian which has been revised, and the Jewish, which was probably at that time not written down at all.

   Each new moon then began a new month. There were thirteen of these in the year, and never at the same time, so the priests had to announce the beginning of each month by lighting signal fires atop the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, at the time of the New Moon, and the message would be relayed to more distant places.

   The beginning of the year had to be readjusted frequently also, for it must be fixed at the first day of the movable month Nisan. On the 14th day of that month came the beginning of the Pasch celebration, and by the 15th day of Nisan the barley had to be ripe enough to make an offering.

   Jesus was baptized, it appears, somewhere between October of 27 A.D. and August of 29 A.D. The actual length of time he taught is another disputed subject. If one were to take Matthew and Mark as having reported all his movements, one could sandwich these accounts in the space of a little over one year. Luke is somewhat more difficult to follow, due to his lack of knowledge of the actual geography of the country, and his not having been physically present.

   But John mentions three Passover feasts in the course of his ministry, as well as certain other festivals, and all this would necessitate at least a two-year span between the first and third Pasch, plus some months before this, after he was baptized. Thus it is logical to assume at least two and one-half years for his ministry, during which time he may or may not have made several trips to Jerusalem. Such trips would have been a matter of course for any Jew, and not necessarily recorded. The second Passover mentioned by John occurred near the time of the first multiplication of the loaves and fishes, when the crowd sat on the green grass of the springtime season. (It would not be green in summer, but more of a California "golden brown").

   Many things in the Gospels are recorded chronologically, but we must recognize that not all the sermons, the healings, or the conversations were told in the exact order in which they occurred, for in writing them down years later, though the words rang clear through their memories, it is probable they did not always recall the exact place or time, and they may have grouped certain sayings together for convenience.

   As John himself said at the end of his gospel: "But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

   He began the public ministry when he was "about thirty," and assuming that this was not later than 29 A.D., the crucifixion must have occurred somewhere between 29 A.D. and 34 A.D. allowing for the earliest and latest logical figures. All four Gospels imply that the crucifixion took place on a Friday. Yet one authority reasonably points out that if he were buried Friday afternoon and rose before Sunday morning, he was not three days and three nights in the tomb as he himself prophesied, but only one full day, (Saturday), and one and one-half nights. He has an explanation for this, which will be discussed later.

   You see what the literalist is up against; one could spend a lifetime delving for information, as many have, and come no closer to the actual facts. So let us leave for now the reckoning of dates, to note that in our account of his ministry in Galilee, we have not tried to ferret these out too closely, but have followed as easily as possible his movements and teachings. The foregoing chapters contain pretty much all of what he did and taught while in Galilee, so far as these things are stated in the Gospels. A couple of small incidents are reserved for use later beside others of like nature, but nothing is left out of all that he did and said.

   We know that he walked from town to town, and into the hills, and that he sailed across the sea. He visited the many towns all around the Sea of Galilee, and these were mentioned by name. This was not only in the province of Galilee itself, but also the tetrarchy of Philip to the east, the Decapolis to the southeast, and even the land of the Phoenicians to the west on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where he visited the towns of Tyre and Sidon. None of these places is very far as we now reckon distance; but his was a moving, active ministry, hardly stopping for rest, and almost always beset by crowds.

   Some critics mention gaps in the time sequences of his teachings, wondering how to account for a few weeks or months here or there, but all the things he did would have been difficult enough to crowd into a space of two and one-half years, if such it was, considering that many of the events are lightly skimmed over by saying that he performed many healings and mighty works in "this town." And he must have sought at times some quiet place to pray other than those on record, and to have given unrecorded time to teaching his apostles.

   Nearing the time to leave Galilee it was most needful to prepare his disciples for what must come, for they must soon leave for the great culmination of his work in Jerusalem.

   Christian Mysticism

   Let us conclude with a Gnostic commentary on Christianity, which states that the "Christos" represents the Solar power that was reverenced by every nation of antiquity. In revealing the nature and purpose of this power under the name and personality of the "Christos," Jesus gave to it the attributes of a god-man. In this he followed a precedent set by various world-teachers.

   Such a god-man, endowed with all the qualities of Deity, signifies the latent divinity in every man. Mortal man may achieve deification only through at-one-ment with his Divine Self. (It seems that man has forgotten the meaning of "atonement" by making it into just one word.)

   Union with this immortal Self constitutes immortality, and he who finds his true Self is therefore "saved." The Christos, or the divine Man within man, is the real hope of each person for salvation - the living Mediator between abstract Deity and mortal humankind.

   The Christos was symbolized in the Mystery teachings in the god-man imprisoned in every person, and it was the first duty of the initiate to liberate and to resurrect this Eternal One within himself.

   There is no mystery, which will not be unfolded to him who perseveres faithfully in open-minded search, completely emptied of all vanity, pride and guile. The Indwelling Spirit will make all things clear, if there be no barrier of personal "self" to veil the Light of Truth.

   Forgiveness

   Jesus, in bringing the atonement, taught the principles of forgiveness with such unmistakable clarity that the world cannot misunderstand. But it is hard for a righteous man who is not consciously at fault to forgive flagrant injustice.

   This is because his reasoning mind cannot condone the thing he automatically judges, being unable to look beyond or back at the cause for such action. If he himself was not at fault and was doing the best he could, society, I'm sure, would become a little better and the other man would inevitably learn the principles of reality and truth.

   This is what Jesus was teaching when he talked about the hardness of their hearts, to see why a man must overlook the harm done either to himself or another.

   When someone owes him a debt, physical or moral or otherwise, he is perfectly justified in wanting and attempting to get this acknowledged and settled. But because he is "right," it is that much harder to let go of it and give up the situation, where the other man is not able at the present to pay the debt.

   If he himself were in the wrong, he would weep and repent, getting himself in the position where he could make amends, but how can he repent for doing good? Sometimes helping another is not always doing good. It's according to how we help.

   In this very logical seeking for justification lies one's greatest danger of being in a state of unforgiveness with his Creator. For as God forgives all who ask through His Son, though they have sinned against Him without reason, we in seeking to become like Him, must also assume ourselves greater than a human act. We must look at things on a larger scale. Weighed on the scale of right and wrong, as in many things, right and wrong are not always a reality.

   As long as man insists that everything be made right according to human understanding, he is delaying the greater spiritual Justice. Man must forgive from the heart rather than the head, even for no apparent reason at all. But the reason eventually shows its ultimate source of reality.

   If the wrongdoer should make restitution and set things right, he gains a reward for himself. But if he does not, or will not, even after his error is shown to him, then the person wronged must drop the debt from his consciousness lest it become a burden to his soul and far outweigh the debt itself. Avenge not yourselves. For it is written (Romans 12), "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

   Unforgiveness is itself a sin. It denies the grace of God by saying in fact that one can't overcome the remembrance of a wrong, which was committed. By making the error larger than the good in himself and holding onto it with a stubborn self-righteous attitude, he blocks the way to his own salvation. For bitterness can't live in heaven. It must be dropped before one may even apply at the pearly gates.

   In speaking of the forgiveness of your debts, God has set an example of the greatness of the heart of Jesus Christ, even beyond the human comprehension. One can forgive a child for small misdemeanors. But in refusing to forgive, you are saying that this person and his acts are greater than your consciousness of your power to forgive and thus you are not walking in the shadow of the Master.

   If one who has already been absolved from sin turns again to find condemnation in his heart, how much harder the second time to come before his Lord and ask that he repeat the crossing out of all his debts? God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, forgave men their sins in order that men might have compassion on one another, that brotherhood might be possible.

   "If your brother sins against you," Jesus said, "go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens, you have gained a brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of the two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the Church or your pastor; and if he refuses to listen even to the Church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector," as a non-believer, one who is not a part of you.

   "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

   "And again I say unto you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

   Then it was that Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

   "And I say to you, therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

   "So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

   "But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'

   "He refused, and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.

   "Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'

   "In anger his lord delivered him to the jailers till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

   Parables

   The use of parables is a realistic method of showing principles of life in action. The short narrative provides a comparison, making a moral or religious point through natural or homely situations. If we look to the Greek word "parabole," it is defined as a placing side by side.

   Jesus told parables because it is easier to hold in memory a teaching in story form, and eventually the principle that it illustrates will become clear. But remember that he was not writing about someone else; he was writing in every parable and story about you -- and your own potentialities -- so that by seeing how someone else handled a situation you might see more clearly how to put these teachings to practical use.

   Jesus presented his ideas dramatically through narration of commonplace incidents. While the rabbis were good story tellers, their tales tended to be more pedantic in order to prove points of law, whereas Jesus spoke with vigor and originality to clarify the great Truths he was teaching.

   Any simple unlearned man would find warmth in the humble familiarity of these tales that bring him the assurance of salvation. While the pastor finds moral precepts to teach his flock, the child of God finds Truth and Wisdom flowing like a fountain from the depths of every word and parable. I find an amazing thing: it is the enduring vitality with which these parables are charged.

   One day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the Sea of Galilee to teach. But the crowds gathered about him, pressing so close that he got into a boat and the whole crowd stood on the beach.

   And he taught them saying; "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on the rocky ground where there is not the depth of soil. Immediately they sprang up but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

   "Where other seeds fell in good soil and they brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

   All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without parables. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

   "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."

   "Why do you speak to them in parables?" the disciples asked, and he answered them, "To you it was given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand lest they should turn again and be forgiven. For them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

   
   'You shall indeed hear but never understand,
   and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
   For this people's heart has grown dull,
   and their ears are heavy of hearing
   and their eyes have closed,
   lest they should perceive with their eyes,
   and hear with their ears,
   and understand with their heart,
   and turn for me to heal them.'

   "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

   Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

   He answered, "If you do not understand this parable how will you understand all the parables? Hear then the parable of the sower:

   "The seed is the Word of God. The ones that drop along the path are those who have heard when the word is sown and then Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in their hearts, and they are not saved." This is done in many ways. Doubt is one of the most prevalent.

   "In like manner are the ones sown upon the rocky ground, who, when they hear the word immediately receive it with joy, but have no root in themselves and believe it for awhile, and then when temptation or tribulation arises on account of the word; immediately they fall away.

   "And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word, and their fruit does not mature.

   "But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it, holding it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience -- thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

   By "hearing," Jesus referred not merely to understanding the meaning of the parable, though many people understand it according to their own level of soul-growth. He meant more -- the Living Word, which is in this time coming to more of God's children on earth and taking root within each to change him into a child of God.

   The Kingdom of Heaven

   Speaking of God's kingdom, he told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened." The yeast or the leaven disappeared from view with the flour. But presently it bubbled up and lifted up the whole mass.

   "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

   "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value, went out and sold all that he had and bought it.

   "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."

   "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

   If a scribe (in those days), or a trained churchman in the present times, can turn to the experiences of the Christ and the reality of God in his own life, then he has the experience of the background of the old religious precepts, along with the new religious truths. This can make for a highly useful servant of God, providing he can become truly a child of God to accept this.

   Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

   "So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

   " 'Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.' "

   And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.

   "The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

   And when his disciples came to him again he explained further, saying, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

   "Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.

   "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

   "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

   And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

   With many such parables he spoke the Word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

   Grace

   Speaking of the forgiveness, let us not forget what has been termed grace, given by Our Lord, the free and eternal love and favor of God the Father. I believe it is fitting here that we speak of grace, as it is given through the generosity of the divine love of Our Lord Jesus, through his forgiving of us and our sins. Through the act of his, he brings not only grace but a generation which I would coin "genosis" because it is an ever functioning thing. Let us look now at this:

   Peter said in 1:13 of his first letter, "The grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." This is to be for eternal life or final salvation, which God will graciously bestow upon His people at the appearing of Christ at the Day of Judgment.

   In I Peter 4:10, he asked the people that they use whatever gifts they may have received in service to one another, like good stewards dispensing the Grace of God in its varied forms. Thus grace is a gift which God bestows in one way or another, each according as He sees fit. And this comes at the time of transformation of the soul, from the old man to the new.

   This free and unmerited Love of God is the original mover in our salvation and has no cause, above it, to excite or draw it forth, but merely arises from its own will. Paul said in Romans 2:6, "And if by grace, then it is no more by work."

   Thus we did not earn this by being good, or by obeying all the rules, for he says again in Romans 5:20: "Where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound." These people needed it more, as there was no other way they could hope for salvation, having refused to do the good work and follow the good path which God had previously set up for them to follow, as His Will.

   Therefore, "Ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14) The way of the law had been too hard for the undisciplined. They could not or would not go the way which so conflicted with their earthly wants.

   So rather than see them all destroyed by their moral laziness and confusion, God sent His Son to lead them quickly out of the burning house which would have destroyed them, His creations.

   He led them to a high place and asked that they not even look back at the flames, but accept his safety as coming direct from God through his person, as God's Son -- as a king would send his Crown Prince to deal with intense problems too delicate to place in the hands of any of his ministers.

   The Concordance defines Grace as the "free and eternal love and favor of God, which is the spring and source of all the benefits which we receive from Him." The Old Testament mentions Grace sparingly, and the word is used only once in Luke 2:40, where the Child Jesus grew and waxed strong, "And the Grace of God was upon him." The other mentions are in John where it is used three times. These four mentions are the only places where Grace is used in the four Gospels. The word Grace is used 128 times in the 1,189 chapters of the Bible. This should indicate that God's Grace was not paid too much attention to by man or even by the writers of the Old Testament.

   Jesus never used the word "grace" in the Bible, but Paul used it repeatedly. Jesus brought Grace, and his Spirit brought it to Paul. It was not by his deeds of persecution that Paul received this grace, but by the love of God through Christ.

   Looking at the word "epigene," it means "upon, or after" and "born, or originating." It refers to something arising after birth, and therefore not congenital. Chemically, it refers to an alteration which has taken place in the substance of a crystal after its formation. The Epigene crystal is formed by materials of one substance modeled on the perished crystals of another.

   This is what the Christ did to Paul, and what it does to us all. It stopped him in his tracks, overpowering and temporarily blinding the "old" man with his Light, and leaving him in seclusion for three days to digest this miracle; and he built a new Paul over the old, which had been changed in consciousness and completely won over to the side of the Lord. Then his sight was restored, better than before, for now he could see the Truth of things.

   The word "epigenesis" is from the Greek, meaning "upon" plus "generation." It refers to the formation of an organic germ as a new product. The theory of epigenesis is that the germ is brought into existence by successive accretions, and not merely developed in the process of reproduction.

   The opposite theory was the theory of evolution, now some- times called the "theory of preformation" or of encasement. Geologically, "epigene" means "produced on the surface of the earth." Air, rain, frost, etc. are epigene.

   Grace is sometimes regarded as a permanent force, having its seat in the soul. As Norris said, "By grace, I understand the inward operation of God's Spirit supernaturally assisting our natural faculties."

   In ecclesiastical terms, sufficient grace is the grace which merely renders the soul capable of performing a supernatural act, while efficacious grace really effects the end for which it is given. Prevenient grace is the grace which produces the repentance and faith without which the grace of justification cannot be received.

   Still speaking ecclesiastically, grace is called the free and gratuitous operation of God, the divine influence which operates in men to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation. Often it is spoken of as the Grace of God, of our Lord, of the Holy Spirit, or as imparted through the sacraments; also in Catholicism as proceeding from the Virgin Mary.

   To "say grace" is to give a prayer of blessing or thanksgiving. In university language, grace means a dispensation. It is the share of favor allotted to one by Providence. Also, an individual virtue or excellence, divine in its origin -- pleasing quality, favor, goodwill, gratitude.

   The words, "I absolve you," penetrate to the soul with grace restoring power, just as the water of baptism reached it with grace-originating power, says Anderson.

   John the Apostle said in John 1:14, 16, 17: "So the Word became flesh; he came to dwell among us, and we saw His Glory, such glory as befits the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."

   St. John also said, "out of His full store, we have all received grace upon grace; for while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

   Thus he correlates grace with love, for Jesus said that love fulfills the law, the law that was given by Moses. And it was the grace and truth brought through love which became the salvation of man.